Stories of Six
by firerwolf
Summary: A collection of stories about Shar-B312. How she got her start and became the Spartan and hero of Reach. Rated T for violence, maybe curse words.
1. Chapter 1

Shar shoved and pushed the other kids away from her, trying to keep them from suffocating her. They were all crammed into the rear of a pelican with barely enough room. It had only been a few weeks since that man from the military had come to talk to her. He'd offered her a chance to get back at the Covenant—revenge for the death of her family on New Harmony.

Shar felt the deceleration, the shift in the ship's inertia., and the bump as they landed. The rear hatch opened and they flooded out. Shar stood near the back, watching as the other kids fought and threw sod at each other. She stayed back near the ships, trying to avoid their pointless fighting. Handlers forced them forward. That was when she saw him. The seven-foot-tall man in full MJOLNIR armor, reflective visor seeming to hide eyes that stared at them all.

A sound echoed through the field like thunder. It was followed by a man's voice over the PA. He introduced himself at Lieutenant Ambrose. Shar clenched her hands as he mentioned New Harmony, the reason why she had chosen to come. He then referred to himself as a Spartan. She froze when he said that 200 of them wouldn't be able to join the training. The next thing she knew they were being forced back onto the ships, and fitted with some gear.

The ships took off and Shar struggled to be able to secure they had given them in the cramped space. A man in navy gear stood at the back and barked at them to check their gear and report any looseness. Shar tugged at the straps, being sure that they were secure. The man then keyed a series of numbers into a pad and the rear of the ship opened. The kids all tried to crowd near the front of the pelican's bay. The navy man shouted something about how they would all jump and then showed them what cord they would have to pull. He must have been crazy. They were supposed to jump out of a moving pelican.

Shar froze as the man said that if they couldn't jump they couldn't be Spartans. Shar pushed at the kids in front of her until she reached the head of the pack. "I'll go," she volunteered.

The navy man nodded at her. "Good to hear. Go right to the edge, and hang on to the guild line."

Shar did as she was instructed and moved to the edge. She looked out at the passing ground below them and with a small leap, the wind took her. She tumbled through the air, every which way. She saw ground, then sky, then trees, followed by mountain. Her hand reached up, grabbing the red handle and pulling hard. She was suddenly snapped straight as her chute opened up behind her.

Her head spun and she grabbed the harness and looked down. The world was becoming larger under her, but it made her feel dizzy. She glanced up and saw more black cloth chutes above her. So others had gone.

She reached up, pulling on the straps, and it changed her angle. She dropped down toward the clearing where they had met up. She was going too far though and she knew she would pass it. Shar hit the ground a few meters away from the area where they had first seen the man in green armor. She hit the ground hard and her legs buckled under her. Pain shot through her legs and she collapsed to the ground. She felt a tug on her back as the wind caught the chute and pulled on her. Shar reached out instinctivly, grabbing a fence to try to keep herself in place. She wrapped her arms around part of the fence and her other hand pulled and tugged on her harness until it finally came loose. The harness was dragged away from her as the chute carried it off. She sat down on the ground and watched it move away across the ground. She stood, being sure she was steady on her feet, ignoring the pain in her legs. She walked back toward where they had started.

The man in armor was waiting and she walked past him, moving back to where they had been standing before. The other man, the one that had ordered them back onto the planes, moved over to her. "Made it to the ground in one piece?"

Shar nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good to see it. But that was only the start." Mendez's face seemed carved in stone. His expression didn't give away any hint of emotion.

Shar nodded. "I'm ready."

"I hope you are." Mendez looked up as more of the children reached the ground.

End


	2. Test

Test

Shar looked out at the field where her team had already fallen. She had stayed back because something had felt wrong to her. She had told the others to stay back as well, but Brad had been so confident. She hadn't really understood why the rest of fireteam November followed him. The three others had all walked out into the field only to be cut down by machine gun fire. She knew that the team was only stunned, but that didn't change the fact they were no longer able to assist her.

Shar lay on the ground, slowly moving back into the cover of the trees. Her movements were slow and careful. She managed to get back behind a tree and stand up. She'd taken notice of what direction the shots had come from. Shar moved back deeper into the woods and toward where the fire had come from. There had been no sign of any Dis, so she doubted that she would run into any human enemies. Her problem instead was that she was running out of time. There were only 300 slots, and 418 candidates were still training to be Spartans. They'd been told to find and ring the bell, and if she didn't work quickly she would lose to the other teams who probably hadn't all been cut down to nothing.

Shar reached the tree that was her target. She looked up through the foliage and spotted the barrel of the machine gun. Shar quickly stretched and started to climb. She had done a bit of climbing back on New Harmony. No, she pushed that thought away. She wasn't a kid anymore. She wasn't the same child that was crammed into a ship and evacuated from her home. She was going to be a Spartan.

Shar reached the automated machine gun and quickly went to work. She unhooked the radar and automation equipment from the weapon. She then grabbed a length of vine from a nearby tree. Shar quickly tied up the machine gun and slung it over her shoulder. She hesitated, then quickly grabbed some extra vine from the tree. Shar then climbed up higher, maneuvering through the tree branches until she saw the second machine gun. She took a deep breath, ran, and jumped.

She felt branches smack against her, but it wasn't until her palms hit a solid branch that she was stopped. She grabbed a hold of the branch and was brought to a sudden stop. The branch creaked and, after a few seconds, snapped. Shar shifted the branch in her hand, moving it so she was wielding the broken limb as a weapon. As she fell past the gun she struck out, smacking the machine gun, tipping it over and sending it tumbling toward the ground. It hit the ground hard, breaking apart. Shar easily climbed down from the tree. She then made a sweep of the perimeter, making sure that there weren't any more guns.

Now she could focus fully on the bell. She'd checked on her team, but all of them were still unable to stand. They wouldn't be able to help her. Shar moved to the pole, looking up at the bell. She needed a way up to it but she didn't have anything to stand on. She was glad that she had grabbed the vine. Shar grabbed the vine and looped it around the pole. She used it to hold on tight as she climbed the pole. She struggled to make her way up the pole, the vine slipping against the smooth metal. She managed to reach the top, grabbing the bell and ringing it three times. It was one of the most glorious sounds she had ever heard. It meant they could continue to train to be Spartans.

Shar dropped down to the ground, moving over to her team. She dragged them, one by one, into the forest where there was cover. It would take time for the stun rounds to wear off so that they could move again. Shar stared out at the bell. It seemed a bit unfair. None of the other teams were going to have the same issues that she did. They were all getting off easy compared to her team. It irritated her a bit, but she supposed now it was just a race of who could find the bell first. For a little while Shar toyed with the idea of becoming the issue for the other trainees, but she decided that she'd rather get payback. She waited with her team, until she heard the whistle. She stayed low in the shadows, keeping her eyes peeled.

Shar spotted four soldiers in SPI armor creeping up. Their camouflage units hid them pretty well, but it didn't hide the rustle of branches as they passed or the way the grass moved as they walked over it. She waited until they were close enough, then opened fire. Rounds pelted the soldiers and after a few moments they fell to the ground. Shar quickly moved over, grabbing their rifles and pistols, along with all of their stun rounds. She then moved back to her team where she found that Elizabeth was already starting to move. Brad and Jeff were both still out of it. She gave the rifle to Elizabeth, taking the pistol and machine gun for herself. She then proceeded to strip the DIs of their SPI armor. She suited up and sat in wait.

She stayed out in the field, taking care of each wave of DIs that came after them. Three other teams joined Shar's, all arming themselves with armor and weapons. It would be almost dawn the next day before Kurt showed up on the scene with Mendez. The Chief ordered them all back to the barracks, and she didn't dare disobey him. She could swear as she walked past him that the Lieutenant was staring at her.

* * *

Kurt looked over the reports from the exercise the day before. "They truly have surprised us." He was fully willing to admit it. He was rather proud that they'd done so well.

"The first day was a great success. What are your feelings on the second group?" Mendez was staring down at the report, fingers lightly tapping the table as he reread the same part of the report over again.

"The trainees did well, though I don't feel that they were properly tested." He looked down at the report as well, frowning. He stared down at the picture of a kid. There was something about her... "You know, she kinds of reminds me of him." Kurt replayed the part of the footage where B312 fell from the tree smacking the machine gun with the branch. "She might even have his luck."

Mendez looked up from the report, he knew who Kurt was referring too. "So what do you want to do?"

Kurt stared at the picture. "I think we need to make her a team of her own." He tapped the data pad and the file of Spartan-B312 appeared. "Yes, I think she will do fine on her own." In all honesty he knew that she was one of them. One of those soldiers that they got, one that would have been part of the Spartan II program. He was sure that this was the right move.


	3. How'd you get it?

Six stared down at her helmet, wiping a bit of blood from the curved face plate of the ODST helmet. She had almost left it the spot of purple-blue, thinking it looked good with the blue and black of her armor. Her blue eyes turned up to watch as the Lieutenant Commander walked into the room. It was obvious how irritated the female Spartan was from her movements. Six couldn't really blame her. It was bad enough they'd just risked their butts taking back Sword Base just to be chewed out and threatened by a civilian scientist. Six understood that the doctor had something to do with the Spartan program, that she was important to Jorge. That didn't matter much to Six though. It was rather hubristic of the doctor to try to butt into a Spartan deployment when Winter Contingency had been enacted.

"Who does she think she is, threatening me like that?" Kat reached up, removing her helmet, holding it loosely at her side. "Daring to threaten to put me in the brig. Ha." Six shrugged and Kat paced around a bit. Noble Two glanced over at the ODST-armored Spartan. "I've been meaning to ask you. How did you get yours?" Six tilted her head to the side and Kat raised her right arm.

Six looked down at her own right arm, the cold metal a bit scratched up from years of use. "This old thing? It was nothing, just a little workplace accident."

Kat huffed. "I suppose some of that work that was blacked out on your record." Six remained silent and it was all the response that was needed. "Well, I hope you're getting worker's compensation for it."

"The UNSC did foot the bill." Six smiled as she looked down at the ODST helmet in her hands. It brought up good memories.

#

Six slipped through the armory, placing charges on boxes of grenades and on important support beams in the building. She had already rigged the two barracks full of insurrectionists with enough explosives to fry everyone inside. She had just set the last of the charges for the armory when two men entered the building. They sat down on some crates and complained about this and that. Six remained still as she listened to them.

They broke out some beers and Six moved forward. She crouched low, slowly sliding her knife from its sheath. The two men were laughing loudly, covering her approach. She grabbed one of the men, covering his mouth with her hand. Her knife slid over his neck and she let him fall to the ground. The other man stood and shouted a sound of surprise. Six's knife buried deep into his side and she pulled it out quickly. Her cover was blown, time to get out of here. The rebel crumpled to the ground, bleeding out slowly. She took off at a full-out run, bursting through the double doors of the armory.

Lights flashed on and rebels poured out of the buildings including the barracks. They opened fire and Six sprinted to get away from the fire. She unslung her rifle and opened fire on some of the closer rebels. Her shots hit their marks and the men fell. There was just too much fire, too many bullets in the air. Six looked over her shoulder, deciding to risk it. She thumbed the detonator and in a flash the barracks and armory exploded. Fire blossomed out, engulfing the rebels. Fire and shrapnel flew across the base, destroying everything in its path. Six kept running toward the forest that seemed like it was miles away. Her arm burned and something struck her arm, causing pain to flare through it, and her arm went limp. She grabbed up her rifle with her left hand, letting her right arm hang limply at her side as she continued to run.

She was picked up by the evac half an hour later. Her arm had been burnt badly by the explosion and a bit of metal had lodged itself in her shoulder, cutting off her nerves. They could replace it, but Six had refused. She'd decided on a robotic prosthetic instead. She couldn't justify staying out of the fight for so long while humanity struggled in two wars.

#

"Oh, there was one other question I wanted to ask you." Kat's words pulled Six out of her thoughts, dragging her back to the present. "What is your name? Seems a bit odd calling you Six."

"Shar, my name is Shar."

Carter entered the room, looking over the two women. "Get ready, Spartans. We've got a new mission." He paused for a minute before turning to Kat. "Jorge, Emile, and I have things to do. Kat, you'll be putting together a recon op for Jun and Six."

The two female Spartans nodded their heads and donned their helmets. "Yes, sir."


	4. Armor

The team of Spartan IIIs never even saw the flash bangs. The explosives went off, taking out the sight and hearing of the three trainees. Shar was sure they didn't see her fists and feet contacting with them. The solders lay on the ground and she placed flags and attached them to the soldiers. The flags indicated that they were officially 'dead' and out of the mission. Now she only had to worry about fireteam Foxtrot.

She wasn't very worried. Shar wouldn't let her guard down, but she had already taken out team X-ray and Zulu. Foxtrot was the only threat left. She'd dealt with them in the past, sometimes helping them without them knowing it or fighting against them, making their missions harder. She'd noticed that Tom was their obvious leader, but that he had a close connection to Lucy. He tended to give her second-in-command power.

Shar slipped back into the shadows, moving off to set up her trap.

#

"Where did she get that armor?" Mendez frowned at the still shot of the event. They'd been watching carefully, but even then it was hard to keep track of one Spartan. What was worse was Spartan-B312 had left her armor in a cave in the exercise area. From the image before him though, she'd found new armor.

Somehow she'd found a suit of black ODST armor. The issue was that Mendez didn't know where she'd gotten the armor from. He was sure that she hadn't left the training area, and there weren't any ODST suits in the inventory. Mendez glanced over at Kurt. He remembered the Spartan II having found and stolen black body armor after their augmentations. He still had no idea where they had gotten the armor then.

"I don't know, but this isn't the first time she's used it rather than the SPI armor." Kurt moved over to a screen and brought up the footage from a test a few days prior. It showed B312, lying on the top of a building in the camp, taking aim with a sniper rifle. She wore the ODST armor again. "Did one of the DIs bring the suit with them?"

Mendez pulled up the list of supplies and items that had been brought along with all of the DIs when they arrived. He shook his head. "None reported bringing it."

Kurt turned his attention back to the screen. He tapped some controls and an aerial view of the training area appeared. The four indicators of team Foxtrot appeared, moving through the forest. He made a note to have Mendez confront B312 about the armor. No, he decided, he'd talk to her about it himself.

Kurt had pushed B312 harder than most of the teams. When she graduated, became a Spartan, she wouldn't have a team to have her back. He'd pit her against instructors, the trainees who had washed out of Alpha Company, and even the other members of Beta Company. She'd crossed each obstacle as they came to her and had even helped him to find some of the betters in Beta Company. She'd nearly lost an exercise against another team after a member had come up with the outlandish idea of dropping their armor and placing it so it looked like they were in sniper positions. Shar had almost fallen for it, and almost been taken out by the fire of the team, but in the end she'd won out; though with the damage she'd taken she likely would have barely survived the encounter if they'd been using live rounds. He'd already marked B320 for a special assignment as soon as he had enough members for the new team.

"Try to keep track of her. Have a DI go and pick up her SPI armor." Mendez nodded and moved over to the radio to contact the instructors. Kurt scanned the screen, wondering where B312 would strike.

#

Shar lay on the branch, high above the ground in an old tree. She stared down at the ground, waiting for her moment to strike. Foxtrot had been making their way through the forest, so she'd moved ahead of them. She spotted the first signs of cloaked SPI armor moving through the forest. The figures came to a stop and she knew that she had them where she wanted them. She'd set up the SPI helmets from Team Zulu on sticks. Shar raised her rifle, being sure to take aim. She'd stolen the sniper rifle off of a DI who had wandered into the training area while going to pick up Team X-ray.

She took aim and fired off four shots. The stun rounds struck two of the soldiers and they fell to the ground. The remaining two darted into the foliage for cover. Shar slid down the branch and climbed down the tree with ease. She slipped into the shadows, confident that the black of her armor would hide her well enough. She'd tried to fit a camouflage unit to the suit, but they weren't as compatible as she had hoped.

She slipped through the forest, looking for any sign of her targets. She finally spotted one—Lucy. She was sure it was her as, even in her armor, she was smaller than others. Shar moved up behind her. The girl was distracted, likely talking to her remaining teammate over their COMs. Shar slipped her arm around the other girl's neck and heard her shout. Lucy struggled against her, but Shar held on tight.

There was a rustle nearby. Shar turned them so that Lucy was between her and the movement. The figure didn't shoot right away, just stayed still. "Put your weapon down and deactivate your camouflage." Shar tugged Lucy's neck up a bit.

Tom hesitated, trying to decide what to do. His camouflage deactivated and he slowly placed down his rifle. Tom put up his hands, each move careful. Shar's hand moved to her back, pulling out her knife. She slammed the butt of her blade into the back of Lucy's head hard enough to knock her out.

Tom knelt down, to pick up his rifle. He wasn't quick enough. Shar's knee made contact with his face, sending him flying back into a tree. She pinned him against the tree, knife at his neck. "You're dead."

Tom slumped a bit, defeated. Shar moved through the team, placing the indicator flags on them. She then moved back through the forest, toward her cave. She'd been using it for a while to hide her ODST armor and store her SPI armor. A DI had smuggled the armor to the camp for nostalgic reasons, and Shar had stolen it. She'd liked it, and seeing as she wasn't in a team like the other Spartans, she didn't want to wear the same armor as them. She was often fought against the other Spartans and something seemed cruel about making the enemy look like them.

There was a problem when she reached the cave. Her SPI armor was gone. Shar clenched her fists and ignored the instinct to smack herself. She hadn't deactivated the locator equipment in the suit. They must have found it and taken her armor. There was no way they couldn't know that she was using different armor. Shar took a deep breath and calmed herself. She turned and left the cave, making her way back to Camp.

#

Kurt stared at the ODST-armored trainee on the other side of the room. B312 stood at full attention, waiting for Kurt to address her. He picked up an object and tossed it at her. The trainee caught it and stared at the helmet. "Can you tell me what that is?"

"Sir, it's an SPI helmet, sir." Shar stared down at the golden reflective face plate.

"Not just the helmet of an SPI suit, it's the helmet of _your_ SPI armor." Kurt studied the trainee. She didn't seem to react at all to the news. "I want you to tell me why it is that you aren't wearing this armor."

Shar shrugged. "I just don't like it." She paused for a moment. "You don't give me missions like the others, so I don't feel like the others. I like this armor." Shar motioned to the ODST armor.

Kurt felt a bit of guilt. He had alienated the Spartan from the others, meaning her dislike for the SPI armor was partially his fault. He nodded and moved over to the trainee. He took the helmet from her and turned around, walking back to the screens on the other side of the room. "You are dismissed." Kurt could almost feel Shar's relief in the air. She'd been afraid that he was going to take her armor away. Kurt turned around, but B312 was already gone, likely not wanting to risk him changing his mind. Kurt let himself smile as he stood alone.


	5. New Harmony

New Harmony

Shar scooted a bit closer to her mother. She stared down at the photo album on her mother's lap. She smiled at the photo of her father in his military uniform. He stood tall in the picture, like the hero he'd been.

Her father had died a year ago when the Covenant killed him. She didn't remember much about her father, but her mother loved to tell her stories. She'd tell her stories of how he'd fought rebels in the outer colonies, saved civilians in the wake of insurrectionist attacks. The few memories that Shar had of her father were happy ones. Birthday parties, days at the park when he was on the planet.

Still, as she stared at the picture she felt that it wasn't fair. He'd been taken from her so early, before she'd really gotten a chance to know him as well as she wanted. She'd always figured that he would be there when she graduated from high school, when she started her career and found her way in the world, and when she got married. None of that could happen anymore. He was gone forever.

Shar pushed these thoughts from her head. Her father's death had haunted her since it had happened, keeping her up at night as her mind focused on her loss. She looked over to the next picture in the book. She didn't recognize the child in the picture. "Mom, who's that?"

Her mother frowned at the picture. "That was your cousin. She died when she was 6, long before you were born." She became silent and Shar looked up at her mother. The woman stared at the picture, her eyes unfocused as she was lost in the memory. Shar gripped her mother's arm a bit tighter and it snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked down at her daughter, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry dear. She was just such a sweet little girl. Her death was a tragedy."

Shar curled up against her mother. There seemed to be so many members of her family that were dead—cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. It almost seemed like there was nothing left of their family. Shar wondered if perhaps it was only a matter of time before she and her mother joined them, if there was any way to escape the fate of her family. Shar snapped up and looked out the window. Sirens rang through the air, sending a spike of fear through her. They could mean only one thing; the Covenant.

"Go pack a bag, sweetie. Only the essentials." Her mother forced her up and Shar ran through the house. She ran to her room where she pulled out the bag that she kept hidden away. Since her father's death her mother had made sure they would be ready for evacuations. They had drilled over and over what to do if the sirens went off, preparing for this day. She moved to her dresser and started to stuff her clothing into the bag. Her hand shook as she did, struggling to try to stay calm. Had fate finally caught up to her? Did they even really have a chance of escape? She stuffed the clothing in as tight as she could and zipped up the bag. Then she unzipped it, moving to her closet where she grabbed the kit that her mother has stored there. It had been her father's, a survival kit that included a knife, rations that wouldn't expire, and some medicines. Her father's words rang in her ears telling her that she never knew when the kit would come in handy. The six-year-old pulled her bag over her shoulder and ran out to the living room.

Shar looked out the window and could see the Covenant cruisers hanging in the sky outside. There were three of them, beautiful but deadly all at once. They were sleek like sharks and a looked to be shades of blue and purple. She'd never seen anything like the cruisers. Their lateral lines glowed with plasma and, although it sent fear through her veins, she stared in awe as the light spread forth, through space. Smaller phantoms descended toward the planet.

Shar's mother moved into the living room. "All right, honey, remember to stay close and don't stop running. We'll make it to the evacuating ships." Shar nodded and her mother grabbed her hand.

They ran out of the door and toward their car. Her mother stopped as a shadow passed overhead and Shar clung to her mother's arm. She looked up and for the first time saw a phantom up close. It wasn't as beautiful as the ships in the sky, more menacing than anything. Her mouth was wide open as she watched it move effortlessly through the air. Shar felt her mother's grip on her hand tighten and she was pulled toward the car with more force. The craft slowed and eased to a stop fifty meters away from them. A large tank was released from the craft, landing on the ground but hovering over the dirt. The wraith slid over the ground like oil over water. The cannon on the back rose up and glowed a soft blue.

Shar's mother turned and ran as fast as she could. The tank fired and Shar's world turned into a bright flash of light. She tumbled end over end until she came to a stop, five meters from where she'd started. Shar rolled onto her stomach and looked around. Her ears rang and her eyes hurt. She spotted her mother and crawled over to her, trying to ignore the pain from hitting the ground. Her eyes grew wide as she looked down on the vacant face of her mother. The light was gone from her eyes and the side of her face was burnt from the plasma. Shar felt tears well in her eyes and she shook her mother, trying to wake her. The skin was still a bit warm under her hand but it was growing colder by the second. "Mom? Mom, wake up!" She started to shout as she pleaded with her mother to wake up.

The tank moved, approaching the young girl. There were two large bangs and a pair of rockets sped through the air. They impacted the tank and it burst into a shower of blue fire and smoke. Shar turned, trying to figure out where the shots had come from. Long lines of smoke still hung in the air, marking their trail. She looked to the other end of the trails but found no one and nothing to have shot the rockets.

She was suddenly pulled up into the air and found herself in the arms of an armored figure. The person ran for cover and Shar clung to the olive green armor for dear life. It was hard to find a place on the cold metal to grip. Two more rockets sped through the air and impacted the side of the phantom, knocking it out of the sky.

Shar looked up at the figure that still held her in its arms. The sight of the MJOLNIR armor left her in complete shock. The golden visor shielded her from seeing the person's face, but she was pretty sure that it was a human. It wasn't a normal human, standing at seven feet—there was no way that a person could naturally be that tall. Another of the figures appeared in identical armor, though it had a set of scorch marks along the metal plates. The two were silent and Shar watched them, confused. She wondered why they were just staring at each other and not talking.

Finally, the figure that was holding her looked down at her. She stared up at the reflective faceplate, wondering what the person had in mind. It was a bit unnerving to her to not be able to see the person's face. "Are you unharmed?" The voice was gentle and feminine, not what Shar expected. This walking tank was a woman.

Shar nodded her head. "I'm all right." A third figure appeared and looked at Shar. It raised a hand in greeting, while it shouldered the rocket launcher. He must have been the one that destroyed the tank. Shar raised her own hand and waved to him. "Who are you?" The words slipped out of her mouth, though she was stuck by a sudden fear that they wouldn't like her asking questions. The last thing she wanted to do was anger any of them.

"We're soldiers. We're going to help you get to those evacuation transports," the female Spartan informed her. The calm tone of voice soothed over Shar's worries.

"Soldiers?" Shar felt much more at ease with that knowledge. She felt safe around soldiers—they would protect her. She smiled at them and nodded, clinging to the female Spartan.

"If you're done playing with the kids, can we continue? Let's get moving," the lead soldier said, his tone holding a hint of impatience.

"Be nice, John. She's just a kid, and she just lost her mother." The female soldier stood, turned, and started to walk toward the main town. It had been where Shar's mother was going to take her before the wraith had attacked them.

Shar was forced to hold onto the Spartan tightly as they took off at a full run. She didn't even know that people could run as fast as these three were. She watched as familiar scenes passed her—homes of friends, her school, stores that they visited. All of them had been attacked. Burn marks and cracks covered the walls where the aliens had come through and destroyed as much as they could. Shar wondered if it meant that all of her friends were gone, everyone she knew.

The soldiers didn't slow until they reached the edge of the city. As soon as they reached the buildings things went bad. They met a group of grunts that opened fire on them. The Spartan that was carrying Shar dodged to cover, away from the plasma. Shar heard the plasma crackle near her head and she shrunk in as close as she could to the protective grip of the Spartan.

The woman set Shar down in an alley, peeling her arms from the armor. "Stay here." The words were cold and forceful, and Shar knew that she shouldn't go against them. The Spartan then ran out, raising her rifle, and joining her fellow soldiers in combat. Shar heard the sounds of bullets flying and of grunts barking in rage and fear. She knelt down in the shadows and tried to remain hidden as she had been told. She could hear the sounds of more grunts and some bird like sounds of jackals down the street.

A shadow passed over and a grunt backed up toward her, trying to hide from the Spartans. The five-foot-tall orange-armored alien didn't even notice her. Here stood the enemy, the one that had taken her father and mother from her. The one that had taken her other serving relatives in the recent years, the ones that were trying to take her home. Her hand searched around on the ground and found a rock the size of an apple. She moved slightly forward and let her anger take control of her. She struck out with the rock, hitting the grunt's bent leg. The limb gave out and the alien fell to the ground with a surprised bark. Before it could react, Shar moved forward, smashing the rock into the alien's skull. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she thought of her lost family. Each hit echoed in her ears, imprinting into her mind. She hit the grunt until it stopped moving.

When the alien was dead, she stared down at the rock in her hand. It was splattered with bright blue blood. She dropped the stone from her hand and took a step away from the alien. She didn't feel any better. The grunt's death didn't bring back her father, or mother, though she liked to believe it might have saved another child's father or mother. She was cold toward the action. The grunt had deserved to die. She felt a weight in the pit of her stomach as she looked down at the caved-in skull of the grunt. She'd done…that…to another living creature. She wasn't even sure where it had come from. She'd never even killed an animal, always having fought to convince her mother to trap and release pest creatures rather than poisoning them or killing them.

A second grunt appeared, plasma pistol raised. Shar looked over at the alien. Her eyes closed and she waited for the shot to hit. It never came. Shar opened her eyes. A Spartan, armor splattered with alien blood, stood over the corpse. The butt of his assault rifle hit the alien's head, caving it in with ease. The figure looked at the child and then looked over as another Spartan arrived. "Kelly, keep an eye on that kid before she gets herself killed."

Kelly moved over to Shar and picked her up. She looked down at the dead grunt. "Did you kill that?" Shar nodded her head, her eyes unfocused, and she clung to the armor once more. "Nicely done, kid. I don't know what John's so worried about. Seems you can handle yourself." There was a cheery tone in the woman's voice that seemed odd to Shar. How could someone be happy about death? Still, something in her words set Shar at ease. This person saw what she did as a good thing, not a crime, not a terrible travesty. She didn't feel as bad about having taken the life.

The Spartans moved off, toward the space docks. They stopped 100 meters away from the transports that were taking civilians up to the waiting ships above. Marines tried to keep order as the women and children were moved ahead of others. The crowd filled the area and soldiers moved among the people, trying to grab children who clung to families. Mothers and fathers cried as they pushed their children away, toward the arms of marines, determined to see that their child survived.

Kelly knelt down and set Shar down on the ground. "Go join them." The Spartan motioned to the crowd. "They'll see that you get off the planet."

"What about you?" She looked at the three soldiers, wondering why they weren't going as well. She didn't want to leave them behind. They'd protected her, been so nice to her. She didn't want them to die as well.

"We have to stay. We're going to do everything that we can to keep the Covenant from taking New Harmony." Kelly looked at her fellow Spartans. "We have to stay and fight." The words were determined and Shar felt a pang of envy. She wished she could be that confident. Right now her world was shattered, and likely about to be glassed by the Covenant. She'd lost the last of her family and was all alone. She didn't know where she'd go or what the future would hold for her.

Shar wanted to stay, but she knew she couldn't. This planet was all that she had left and she didn't want to leave it to the Covenant. She didn't have the ability to fight like these Spartans did. They were big, strong, and had battle armor. She didn't have any of that. She nodded and moved over to Kelly, throwing her arms around the female Spartan's neck. She hugged her, then let go. "Thank you, Kelly."

"Any time, kid." Kelly stood up then took a step away from her. "Go on." She took a few steps back and stood next to the leader Spartan.

Shar hesitated, then look over at the lead soldier. "Thank you, John." She then looked at the final soldier. "Thank you, whatever your name is." She waved to them one last time and turned, running off toward the civilians.

"Cute kid." Fred commented.

Shar was swept up by the crowd and found herself lifted up by a soldier. She was moved to the front of the line with the other children. Shar ended up crammed into a shuttle next to another young girl with brown hair and blue eyes on one side and a black haired girl on her other side. They sat in the shuttle as it moved up to the ships above, just waiting to see if they would get blasted out of the sky. Somehow, they survived. The children were either reunited with their families or, if they were like Shar and had none, they were moved to an orphanage on one of the still UNSC controlled planets.

Shar had dreams of the three Spartans from that day forward. When the man had come to offer her a chance to get revenge on the Covenant, to become a soldier, she jumped at it. She was going to make the Covenant pay for each and every death that they'd caused, in her family and on all the planets they had glassed. When she'd seen Kurt, she recognized the armor right away. She knew that she was being given a chance to be like them. She was going to be like them, and stop the Covenant.


	6. Near Loss

Shar knelt by the side of the river, checking over the area again. She was sure that there was no one around, at least for now. She carefully moved to the edge of the water, nervously looking around. She disliked exercises like this. She hadn't been given any armor at the start of the mission. She'd already taken out two teams but she had left their armor behind. She wasn't in the mood for stealing armor. She liked her own armor, not the SPI armor.

She looked down at the reflective surface and frowned. Icy blue eyes stared back at her, framed by centimeter long brown hair. She hated her reflection. Whenever she saw it she never saw her own face. She only saw the face of her mother and it brought back all those bad memories. Her hand struck out, disturbing the still surface. Her hands reached the bottom of the river and gathered up some mud. She spread it over her face carefully. It would be the best she could do to try to keep herself camouflaged.

When she'd finished, Shar turned and moved back into the woods. She knew where fireteam Kilo had last been. This last team had given her a bit of problem. They weren't acting as they usually did. She guessed that they weren't being led by Ted for this mission.

She moved through the woods like a shadow. She was careful to avoid brushing up against bushes to give away her position. She only stopped when she reached the edge of a cliff. She looked down and checked the area below for any movement before she checked the opposite ridge. Shar dropped flat to the ground as she spotted the reflective visor of a suit of SPI armor. It was just barely visible, but it was obvious from this angle. The position was perfect for a sniper. So that was their game, take her out with a sniper. Unfortunately for them, she hadn't come through canyon below.

Shar quickly decided on a course of action and moved back into cover. She moved around the long way, making her way to the opposite side of the cliff. She made her way carefully up behind the sniper, moving slowly. She pulled out her blade silently and leapt forward. She landed on the back of the sniper, but froze as she did. There wasn't anyone inside of the armor, it was only armor. Shar cursed and spun around as she heard motion behind her.

Four figures appeared and raised weapons. Shar fell to the ground just in time for the shots to zip overhead. She rolled to the side and mud splattered where she had been. She moved to her feet and sprang forward, tackling the closest of the trainees. She struck out with her elbow, hitting the boy in the head and knocking him down. She was on him a second later, pounding her fist into his head. His grip loosened on his weapon and she grabbed it. She darted behind a rock as stun rounds cut through the air.

Shar inched to the edge of the rock and glanced out around the corner. She spotted two soldiers in armor and one that wasn't. One of the armored figures moved over to the stunned trainee that Shar had just attacked. He pulled his teammate back and away from the action. The unarmored figure waved the other soldier forward and they slowly moved to try to flank Shar. She wasn't about to let that happen.

She moved to the edge of the rock and waited. There was a rustle and she waited a heartbeat before she sprang out. The butt of her rifle slammed into the helmeted head and the shield flickered. Shar stuck out a second time, and the shield dropped. She moved her weapon and opened fire on his chest. The trainee dropped, stunned.

The unarmored figure appeared behind Shar and opened fire. Shar dropped to one knee and struck out with her own weapon. She knocked the gun from the other woman's hand, but the woman stuck out and Shar's gun flew from her hand. Shar took a step back and the other woman attacked. They exchanged blows, Shar trying to stay on the defensive, looking for an opening. Neither noticed the third person arrive.

Shar ducked down and a stun round hit the other woman in the shoulder. "Damn it, Ted, watch your line of fire." The unarmored figure's voice was thick with a familiar accent. Shar pushed back and slammed her shoulder into Ted's chest. He flew back and Shar grabbed her weapon, firing into Ted's chest, then turned and unloaded on the other woman. They both fell. Shar then moved through the woods to the trainee that she had first knocked out. She lifted the gun and fired at him until she was sure that he was stunned.

Shar could feel anger boiling in her. She turned and stormed back over to the three stunned soldiers. She moved over to the woman and knelt, placing her knee in the middle of the woman's chest. She winced as Shar set her weight on her knee. "Hey there, Catherine." Shar reached up, scraping some of the mud off of her face. She got most of it off, glaring down at Kat. "You almost beat me today. I hope you know how big of a feat that was." She scowled, leaning down, closer to Kat. "I don't like to lose, or even come close to losing. I will get you back for this, Catherine." Shar then stood up and walked away through the woods.


	7. Hyper Lythal Vector

Hyper lethal vector

Shar stood before the Captain, waiting for his orders. "Well, Senior Chief Petty Officer, I suppose I've kept you waiting long enough. Today you have some particular rules for this mission. You'll be working with a Spartan II. I know that this is not the first time that you have worked with them and you are aware of the protocol for this situation."

"Yes, sir." Shar had worked with a Spartan II once before, a man named Jorge if she remembered correctly.

"Good, then you'll remember the protocol for working with a Spartan II." The Captain tapped a control and a holographic representation of a planet appeared. "This is your target. You'll be under the Master Chief's command, so I expect you to listen to orders."

"Yes, sir." Shar wasn't really used to being in the field and under another soldier's command. She wasn't usually put in the field with solders that were higher in rank than Staff Sergeants.

"Our recon shows that they have three scorpion tanks. I would prefer that that equipment could be saved rather than destroyed. They would be a help to soldiers in the field.

"I'll do what I can." The idea of facing a tank and not destroying it wasn't very appealing. They were supposed to be going in quiet and keep from being noticed, all while destroying the entire rebel population. It was normal for Shar to be given these parameters, though she wasn't so sure about this other Spartan. Jorge had been so big that he didn't seem to understand the idea of stealth.

"Very well, then. The Master Chief is waiting for you in the hanger. Keep in mind that he is a Spartan II." The Captain nodded and turned back to a screed that was covered in transmissions from departments all across the ship.

Shar nodded and turned, making her way off of the bridge. She made her way through the ship until she reached the hanger. There she looked around and spotted a pelican and the familiar figure of a Mark IV armored Spartan. She watched him for a moment before moving down the stairs and walking over. "Master Chief, Senior Chief Petty Officer Spartan-three-one-two reporting as ordered." She stood at attention.

The Spartan II stopped and looked at Shar. His head tilted slightly to the side. She wasn't exactly sure why he was staring at her. Whether it was due to her ODST armor additions, because he didn't recognize her, or her robotic arm, she wasn't sure. He moved over to her and nodded. "Good to have you working with me, Spartan. You must be from the second class." Shar simply nodded. It was the cover story she always used with Spartan IIs. "I'm John. How much combat experience do you have?"

Shar froze for a second at his name. Memories of three Spartans in Mark IV armor carrying her to the evacuation transports flashed in her mind. The memory of the female Spartan calling their leader John was crystal clear for a second then slipped away. She pushed aside the question of if he was the same John and focused on the now. "My name's Shar. I have plenty of experience. Covenant, rebels, loud, stealth, teams, solo, I'm ready for anything, sir." Shar frowned as he continued to stare at her. "Is there something wrong, sir?"

"Why aren't you wearing the standard armor?" John's voice was flat as he spoke.

The Spartan III shrugged. "It has always just suited me more. I stole some ODST armor back in training and always used it, so it is logical that when going out into the field for real, that it would be my choice." It was all rehearsed. She'd justified her armor choice to others since she'd moved out into the field.

John nodded, accepting her answer. "Grab your gear and we'll head down." Shar grabbed a standard pistol and assault rifle with extra clips of ammunition and a pair of frag grenades. She followed John into the pelican and sat down in a seat across from him. She felt small compared to the Master Chief. He stood at seven feet two inches while she was only six foot ten in her armor. She wondered exactly how much of his height was the armor and how much was the man inside.

The ride down to the planet was silent. Shar wasn't sure what she had been expecting. Spartans weren't really big on chatter, but Jorge had asked her questions like crazy about herself. John just sat there in silence and stared at her. It was really a bit unsettling. She was actually grateful as the ship slowed and swung around so that it could land. Shar waited until John had stood and started to walk to the back before she stood. The pelican bounced as it landed.

John hit the release on the rear door. "Stay here, Corporal. We'll call you to the evac point when we're finished." John moved down the ramp. Shar gave the pilot a glance; he somehow seemed glad to be just left to sit around. She followed after the Master Chief, dashing across the open space to the forest nearby. She stopped beside John and he motioned her in the direction of the insurrectionist camp.

It took them half an hour to get to the outskirts of the camp. Shar lay on her stomach, watching as the patrol walked past. They moved in groups of two and passed by every ten minutes. That was more than enough time for them, but they wanted to be sure of their plan before they struck. If there was even one snag then things could go south fast.

"You understand the plan?" John lowered his rifle, turning to look at the Spartan III.

"Yes, sir." She really wanted him to stop asking her that. He'd already asked it three times. She knew the plan. It showed he didn't trust her skill. Then again, she hadn't shown him her skill yet. He had reason to be unsure about her.

"Good, move out." John moved to his feet and Shar followed. They moved along the edge of the forest, keeping low and trying to stay behind the trees. They stopped when they reached the side of the base opposite the one road into the camp. Shar crawled slowly forward toward the fence. She waited until she pulled out a container and applied a blue paste to part of the fence. The metal smoked, and with a gentle tug part of the fence came loose. Shar made a not to specify in her report how well the new substance had worked. It was specially designed to rust through particular metals, though it had proven it burnt just as easily through skin. It made it useful only to people with the proper equipment to protect them.

John moved up beside her and past her. Shar followed right behind him, melting into the shadows. He surprised her with his ability to move so quickly and fluidly, despite his size. They made their way to the motor pool. They had planned on disabling the tank before they made any real strike against the rebels.

Shar knelt, keeping a watch for any patrols. She could hear John behind her, picking the lock to the back door of the building. She heard the tumblers move and open inside the door. She moved over to the side of the door opposite John. Master Chief held up three fingers and counted down before he pulled the door open. The metal slid back silently and Shar swept the area. She spotted a pair of soldiers standing beside several warthogs, chatting.

"We have two rebels inside. Not aware of our presence." She motioned toward a crate and she and John moved over the open space like oil over water until they were hidden behind the crate.

"Did you bring a silencer for your pistol?" John moved to the edge of the crate and peered around at the pair of rebels.

"Not necessary. Even silenced, they'd make too much noise, and we can't risk them knowing before we get those tanks disabled." Shar wasn't sure how he would take her words. He might be offended that she was possibly going against his orders or he might not care at all. He was much too hard to read. The memory of the blank faceplate staring down at her when she was a child burned in her mind.

"You got a better idea, I'm more than happy to hear it. I don't want to risk alerting them." John's voice sounded sincere but Shar was still hesitant.

"I can take care of them. Quietly and quickly, sir." Shar grabbed a small rock and flicked it into the air. It hit the ground and the sound echoed through the structure. One of the rebels turned around and Shar could hear them talking.

"What was that?" One of the rebels turned completely around. The other simply rolled his eyes. "I'm going to check it out."

"Whatever. It's probably just a cat or something." The second rebel turned back around.

Shar crouched in the shadows, waiting for the rebel to pass her. As soon as his back was presented to her she moved like lighting. Her arm wrapped around his neck and hand covered his mouth. With a quick jerk and the man's spine snapped. The body went lip in her grip and she pulled him back behind the crate.

The second man didn't even notice the other rebel fall. "What about the second one?" John searched the dead man and found only a pack of cigarettes and a pistol.

"Not a problem. He's even easier." Shar moved away from the crate, drawing the combat knife from her armor and sneaking up behind the man. Her hand covered his mouth and she stabbed up with the blade into the back of his skull. He fell to the ground with a dull thud. Shar pulled her knife free and turned to John's location, giving him a thumbs up.

John moved out from cover and they moved over to the tanks. They disabled each of the vehicles and made sure that they wouldn't be an issue. "What about the warthogs? They could still be an issue for us." Shar glanced over at the jeeps.

"We'll jam the guns. The rebels won't run if they do find us, which isn't the plan, but if they do get to the hogs, the guns are the only thing we really need to worry about." John moved to the back of one of the hogs and got to work. "Keep watch."

Shar wanted to argue but she stopped herself. She could do more than just stand guard but she'd show him what she could do. She knew that if he knew she was that little girl who had smashed in a grunt's skull he'd have a bit more faith in her ability.

John finished and moved over to Shar's side. "All right, on to stage two. You know what to do." Shar nodded. "All right, move out." John crept off and Shar slunk off in a different direction.

John had already planned out how they would systematically work through the camp. John would take care of the mess hall, which at this time should be empty, and the medical building, while Shar would take out the main command building and the weapons locker. They would then meet up and take out the barrack building.

Shar moved to the command building first. When she slipped inside she found most of the building empty. The only room that had anyone in it was a lounge-like area where three men sat around sipping whisky.

Shar moved into the hall and quickly took out the silencer equipment for her pistol. She slipped on the silencer and moved into the room. The three men were chatting and laughing so loudly that none of them noticed her. She grabbed her knife. She moved up behind one of the plush chairs and in a flurry of motion her knife slashed over the man's throat. Her gun moved in an arc and she fired two shots. To Shar, the muffled cough of the silenced pistol seemed to sound like thunder in the quiet room.

Shar looked over the three men and frowned at the military-like uniforms they wore. Why was it that rebels seemed to think that they had a right to compare themselves to soldiers? As she looked at the rebels she felt an odd sense of their disrespect to all of her fallen family who had served.

Shar moved from the building to the armory, where she surprisingly found no one. The building was empty, though she made note of all of the weapons that were stored in the building. There were shotguns, rocket launchers, assault and battle rifles, not to mention several grenade launchers.

Shar busted the lock on the door and climbed out of a window. If things went south she didn't want them to be able to get to the heavy weapons. It would make things much harder for her and John. Shar paused and frowned to herself. Had she really just thought of the Master Chief as someone that she could call by his first name? She was convinced that he was the same John from back on New Harmony. She thought of him as one of those three strong figures that had made her so sure that she wanted to be a Spartan, that drove her in her dreams to keep fighting.

Shar made her way to meet up with John and they crouched down behind the rear of the building. "What did you find?" John glanced over his shoulder to check and be sure that no one was around.

"Three high rankers. I took them out. An armory with no guard and a lot of heavy weapons. Sir, something feels odd here." She shifted slightly. There was a slight tilt of John's helmet and she took it as her cue to explain. "Why wouldn't they guard their weapons, even more so if they have weapons like rocket launchers? There were only two guards for three tanks and all their hogs. There's no reason that the higher ups would be sitting around with no guards around. It just doesn't fit."

"You're giving them too much credit. They aren't military, they are just common people." John checked over his weapon. "Let's finish this."

Shar bit her lip but stayed quiet. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, but she followed John forward, grabbing her assault rifle. She moved up behind him as he readied his battle rifle. They moved to either side of the door and John nodded. He moved before the door and his foot met the solid wood. She didn't know what made her do it, or even was really aware but Shar's hand reached out and grabbed John's arm. She pulled him to the side just in time as fire and shrapnel flew through the doorway. Shar recognized the heat and the sound right away as anti-tank mines.

John moved to the side of the wall beside Shar. "Told you something was off." Shar raised her rifle and readied for something to come through the door. Nothing and no one came through the doorway. She glanced over at John who made a tossing motion. Shar nodded and took one of the grenades from her belt. She pulled the pin and counted before tossing the explosive into the barracks. She heard it bounce once before it exploded.

Shar and John moved forward as one, burst through the doorway. Shar quickly moved over to a table and tipped it over to make cover. She swept the room and spotted several figures. She fired a quick, three round burst, and the shots hit the men in their chests. She heard more shots join hers as John took down three more. Shar moved behind her cover and slowly eased out, looking for any other targets. A pair of heads peeked out and Shar took aim and fired quickly. The rounds splattered blood, brains, and bits of skull on the wall behind them.

Shar saw a grenade fly through the air and it disappeared behind the cots that the rebels had been using for cover. It exploded and she heard several people scream. Several others ran out of the cover and Shar took them out quickly with shots to the chest. When the room fell silent she and John made a full sweep of the building. They found no one else.

John radioed to their pelican and called it to pick them up. They two Spartans moved out to the firing range that was set up near the forest. The trees were peppered with bullet holes. John stood beside Shar as they watched the skies for their ride.

"Thanks." Shar looked at John, surprised by the word. "Thanks for saving my life back there. Those mines would have killed me. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

Shar shrugged and glanced over as the pelican arrived. "Consider it returning the favor." Shar could feel his confusion in the air as she moved toward the now landed pelican. She sat down in the pelican and John sat across from her. They were silent all the way back until they reached the ship. Shar stood to leave and John followed after her.

"Hey, Shar." She stopped to turn back to him. "You ever need a partner for a tough mission, go ahead and request me. I'll be happy to work with you any time." Shar smiled behind her visor and turned to walk down the ramp with John on her heels.


	8. Jorge

Jorge

Shar sat on a crate, packing her armor with all the supplies she would need for the upcoming mission. She packed up extra DMR ammunition and was now inserting high caliber rounds into magazines for her sniper rifle. She'd often taken down entire Covenant camps with a sniper rifle before they even knew what was happening.

A shadow appeared over Shar and she froze in her activities. Ice blue eyes stared up to meet warm hazel. Shar shifted, frowning up at the large man. "Can I help you?"

"You're Shar-312?" The larger man set aside his machine gun turret.

Shar looked over the man. She could tell he was much older than her. At least ten years. She'd never seen armor like his Mark IV armor. It made him look like an actual walking tank. She felt awkward and small in her ODST armor. "I am Shar-312."

A smile spread over the man's face. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jorge-052, I'll be working with you. Hope you don't mind me tagging along." Jorge shifted his helmet to pin it between his side and left arm, his right hand extended.

Shar looked at it for a moment before she reached out and shook his hand. She'd have to be careful around this man. He was a Spartan II, not a III like her. She'd been ordered to use a cover story in order to maintain the secrecy of the Spartan III program. Her story was simple enough to maintain. She was a Spartan II from the second class trained. In reality, there had never been a second class. Funding had been cut, and there'd been no time as the Covenant had arrived and resources were shifted. The Spartan IIs had been told there would be, making for a perfect cover.

Jorge stared down at her. "Don't talk much do you?"

Shar hadn't realized she'd zoned out. "I'm a woman of few words." She returned to her task of putting rounds into the magazine.

"That you are." Jorge frowned as she basically ignored him. Seemed he wasn't used to that. "So you're from the second class?"

Shar stifled a groan of annoyance. "Yes." She really wasn't big on talking. She was used to being alone, working alone, eating alone, being left alone. Jorge didn't seem to get that.

"Never met a Spartan from the second class. Hope Mendez taught you well." Jorge leaned back against the large crate. "How long you been in combat?"

Shar stared at the full clip in her hand. She remembered Mendez. The man had come up with almost every obstacle to throw at her. He'd made her life hell, and was someone she held great respect for. "I've fought enough."

Jorge shifted, seeming a bit uneasy. Shar could only guess he didn't like her answers. "Ever worked in a team?"

Shar looked up at these words. "No, I work alone."

Jorge seemed to relax. "Well, that explains it." Shar raised an eyebrow so Jorge explained. "You're not big on talking and you don't give direct answers. Common with lone wolves in secret projects." Shar tensed. She had taken part in plenty of secrets so far in her career. She had a lot to hide. "Don't worry, I won't ask."

Shar stared at him, trying to decide if he was lying or she'd have to keep her guard up. He didn't seem like he had anything up his sleeve, but she wasn't going to let him have any chances. "I'm not really a people person."

Jorge nodded and moved away from the crate he was leaning against. The Spartan II moved to sit on a crate across from Shar. "So what can you tell me about our mission?"

Shar's blue eyes looked up at him. Finally, a subject she was comfortable with. "Covenant camp. Right now it's the location that they are using to produce weapons. We're to go in, blow up the factory, and kill every alien that we can."

"Sounds like a good time." Jorge grinned and Shar kept the grimace from her face. He really was trying to make friends. He was trying so hard it was almost painful to watch.

Shar stood up and slipped the magazines of sniper ammunition into her armor. "Come on, we should get to work." She reached down and grabbed her ODST helmet, slipping it on.

Jorge nodded and put on his own helmet. "Might I ask you one last thing?"

"You just did." Shar's voice was cold, trying to hide her annoyance.

Jorge seemed to ignore her. "Why do you wear ODST armor? What happened to your Mark IV armor?" He grabbed his turret and followed her toward the waiting pelican.

"I just like ODST armor." Shar moved up into the rear of the ship and sat down in one of the seats, checking over her weapons. Jorge settled down across from her and they fell silent as the pelican took off.

Jorge tried several more times to try to get Shar to talk but she said as little as she could. She took point as they left the ship and moved toward their target. They stopped at the edge of the field that the Covenant had set up the factory in. Crates of what they could only guess were plasma weapons were being moved about the location. Shar pulled out her sniper rifle and looked over the area. If she could figure out if any of the crates had plasma grenades in them she could easily try to hit one and cause a big explosion. It would at least give them a good chance to be able to make an assault, maybe take out the main part of the factory.

"Want to tell me what's in that head of yours?" Shar looked over at Jorge as he spoke. "I'm not a mind reader."

"Not used to having a partner." Shar shifted a bit. She'd have to get used to having someone with her who she had to tell what was going on. "Planning on hitting a case of plasma grenades. The grunts huddle around them well enough it would kill a large number, draw their attention. Then I'm thinking…" Her scope swept over the factory to land on a group of purple single person vehicles. "We steal a couple of those ghosts and play a little death race."

"What is death race?" The larger Spartan looked at the ghosts. "You ever driven a ghost before?"

"Death race is when you take a vehicle, ghost, wraith, warthog, tank, and run over every covenant you can find." Shar shrugged slightly. "I've driven one a fair number of times. Easy controls to understand. If a grunt can do it, we can."

Jorge didn't reply right away. He stared at the ghosts. "I've never driven a ghost before, and I'm not much interested in finding out if I'm a natural like you."

"All right, I hit the crate, take a ghost, and while their backs are turned trying to shoot me, you place the charges. When you're done, come out and cut what's left down." Shar tracked a particular crate as it moved across the camp. There was a single grunt on the top of the case digging around inside. The familiar blue of plasma grenades peeked out. "I have my target. We're going with the plan."

Jorge stiffened. Whether he was ready for battle or surprised by the decision, Shar couldn't tell. She focused fully on her target, squeezing off one round. The sniper round shot through the opening and the crate erupted into a ball of brilliant neon blue. The surrounding grunts were vaporized by the explosion and those close by were sent flying.

"Killionair." Shar shoot off over the ground toward the camp, leaving Jorge behind. The grunts and jackals had all turned toward the explosion, giving Shar her opening. She jumped into one of the ghosts and turned it on. The purple alien vehicle rose up off the ground a couple inches as the antigravity kicked on. The jackals and grunts shouted in surprise and turned toward the source of the noise. They turned just in time to see the hood of the ghost before it slammed into them, sending limp bodies flying.

The ghost sped across the field, knocking grunts and jackals aside. Shar circled around a few times before she spotted a couple grunts setting up turrets. She opened fire with the plasma guns of the ghost and the turrets heated before melting. The grunts tried to run but she chased them down, running them over and painting the front of the ghost an odd blue with alien blood.

Shar circled the field one more time before the bulky figure of Jorge appeared moving out of the main factory. He hefted his turret and as the grunts and jackals shot at the fleeing ghost the Spartan II fired, bullets cutting through the enemies like paper.

Shar turned around and moved back toward her teammate, intending to lead more of the aliens toward him. Jorge shifted oddly, looking off into the distance. As she neared him he suddenly dropped his turret and moved forward. Shar felt him grab the front of her armor and roughly pull her from the ghost. She was just about to shout at him and ask him why when her ghost erupted as a ball of brilliant blue light hit it. Shar turned her attention to the familiar source of the projectile. The wraith moved over the grass, nearing the Spartans.

"Keep its attention." Shar moved off leaving a confused Jorge. The Spartan II moved back to his gun and grabbed the turret. He swung it around and opened fire on the wraith. It turned toward him and moved closer to the Spartan II. The gunner opened fire and Jorge aimed for the grunt. The turrets faced off but while the grunt struggled to track Jorge as the tank moved forward Jorge stayed steady. He finally killed the gunner.

There was a loud banding noise that echoed across the field as Shar climbed aboard the back of the wraith and started to pound away at the metal. The wraith tried to turn, to find its attacker, but it was too late. Sparks flew and Shar dropped from the wraith. She darted toward Jorge and knocked him to the ground. Heat washed over the Spartans as the tank exploded. Shar felt her skin blister under her armor but she pushed the pain aside for now. She scrambled to her feet and looked around. The remaining grunts ran around like scared cockroaches while the jackals struggled to try to regain order.

Shar turned to Jorge as he moved to his feet. "You set the charges?" The Spartan II nodded. "Then let's go. No reason to sit around." Shar took off at a run toward their evac point. She saw the yellow dot on her motion tracker and heard the heavy footfalls of Jorge behind her. At least he could still run and he was keeping up with her.

The two soldiers didn't stop until they reached the evac, hunkering down in the shadows to wait for the pelican to arrive. Shar stared up at the sky and waited. She glanced over at Jorge and frowned as she realized he was staring. "What?" She turned her full attention to him and waited for an answer.

Jorge's large shoulders shrugged. "Nothing really, just thinking about if there's an entire other class of Spartans out there like you, then humanity might have a chance." Shar grimaced behind her visor. She didn't have the heart to tell him that most of the other Spartan IIIs were not like her. They worked in teams, and even then it took about three of them to match up to someone like her or him. On top of that the entire first class had died—well, most of them. She'd heard rumors that some of them were still alive, at least that's what Kat had said. Kat had a way with getting classified information, so Shar believed it. Shar had wondered many times in the past if the surviving Alpha Company Spartans were like her. Lone wolves, better than the rest of their classmates. She was never sure.

"Lost in your head?" Jorge's words caused Shar to look up. "You're staring and I can't imagine that the ground is that interesting."

Shar looked back down toward the ground. "I'm used to getting lost in my head." Shar turned her gaze back toward the sky and spotted the pelican. She stood up and moved out into the open area as the ship.

Jorge moved up to stand to her right. "Well, I have to say this was a bit fun. Maybe one day you can teach me to drive a ghost. Though any time you need back up I'm more than willing. Haven't had a thrill like that in battle in a while." The pelican landed and Jorge moved aboard. Shar frowned after the Spartan II. She wasn't sure how much she liked the idea of working in a team again. She did like having someone watch her back, but she wasn't sure if she was cut out for it.

The female Spartan moved into the pelican and motioned to the pilot. The pelican rose up and when they were a safe distance she detonated the charges that Jorge had set. The Spartan II stared out the back, watching the explosion while Shar stared up at the sky above the planet. "Not going to watch the fireworks?" Shar turned toward Jorge who was watching her.

"I've seen it before." She looked back up and Jorge followed her gaze to one of the cruisers in the sky. "I'm more interested in seeing what kind of fireworks one of those would make."

Jorge looked down to Shar. "You are a bit of crazy." He chuckled and Shar frowned. She didn't like being laughed at. "Nothing wrong with that though. Have to admit though, love to see what it looks like myself." The Spartan II leaned back as Shar hit the controls in the back, sealing up the rear of the ship as they rose up.


	9. CARTWHEEL

CARTWHEEL

Shar moved through the forest, trying to keep low. She had been assigned to take down the AA gun that was currently blasting pelicans and longswords out of the sky. They wouldn't be able to bomb the Covenant positions until they took out the gun.

The lone wolf stopped and turned as several identification tags appeared on her HUD. She changed directions and moved toward them. She found a quickly constructed base with several SPI armored Spartans guarding it. She clicked her COM twice and all three of the helmets turned in her direction. Shar walked out of the forest, holding up her weapon so that they could see her.

One of the Spartans moved to meet her half way. "Why are you here?" He didn't sound at all happy to see her, but Shar recognized the voice right away.

"Nice to see you too, Brad." Shar sighed, not sure why her old teammate was so unhappy to see her. "I'm here to destroy the AA gun."

"How are you going to do that?" Shar turned to Kat as she came over to join them.

"So Kilo is here as well?" Kat nodded. "I have a plan, but I need to get myself into a banshee. Was looking for anything that might help with that."

The third Spartan came down to join them. "What are you all talking about?"

"Wolf here wants to take some of our supplies." Brad's aggression was starting to get on Shar's nerves. She hadn't done anything to deserve this level of venom from him.

"I think I might have a way that you can get a banshee, but you have to let me run the mission." Kat spoke up. "We need to take out those shades or they'll wipe out all of the marines that are going to make an attack on them. We have to at least give them a fighting chance."

Shar paused for a moment, wondering if she should take the risk. She needed to be focused on her mission. "Very well then, you're in command, but once those shades are gone, we have to take out that gun. The longswords get to make a run, they'll be able to take out some of the heavier stuff and give them even more of a chance."

Kat nodded and lead Shar into the constructed base. Elizabeth crossed her arms as she looked at Shar. "What is she doing here?"

Shar shifted a bit, feeling the air of aggression in the air. Kat ignored it. "I've recruited her for an op."

"You don't have the authority to run an op, Kat." Ted took a step toward her, but Kat didn't back down.

"I can't, but Wolf can. Now where is the grenade launcher?" Kat moved to find it, but Ted grabbed her arm, keeping her in place. Shar could almost feel the anger between them. She was sure it was only fractions of a second from turning into a fistfight.

"I've got it, and I'm in." Shar frowned as the unknown Spartan moved up. She hefted the grenade launcher to rest on her shoulder, still holding her pistol in hand.

"Thank you, Katy." Kat moved over, taking the launcher. "Come on, we need to take out those shades and that gun."

"I'm ordering you not to go." Ted took a step forward, standing in Kat's way.

Kat pushed past him, and Shar and Katy followed. Brad didn't make a move to stop them as they moved out of the base and into the trees. The trio of Spartans moved through the forest, Kat taking the lead.

They stopped when they reached a slight clearing. "The banshee groups have been making patrols over here and the clearing will give space for us to hijack from." Kat prepared the grenade launcher and then reached to her belt and tossed a plasma pistol over to Shar. Shar wondered where she had gotten it, but thought better of bothering to ask. Kat always had what was needed for a mission. "Use that to disable the third one."

Shar moved to crouch beside Kat. "Can I ask you something?" Kat nodded to her. "Why did you call me Wolf?"

"Cause you're a lone wolf. Wolf is just faster." Kat glanced over at Katy. Shar glanced toward her as well, and Katy looked back at them. "Would you put that pistol away?"

Katy glanced down at the magnum in her hand. "No, if a patrol shows up, I'm the one to take care of them while you take down the banshees. I think I'd rather be ready." Shar frowned as she stared at the identification tag that was attached to her. She was marked as a member of November. So then Katy had been the one to replace her. Maybe that was why her team wasn't happy to see her.

Kat shook her head and turned to Shar. "She never puts that damn thing down. Pretty sure if she doesn't put it down soon it will fuse to her hand."

Shar smiled behind her visor. "She's the one you used to hang out with?" Kat nodded to the question. Shar remembered seeing Kat have a few other women that she would spend time with. A girl name Lucy and it seemed this Katy. The three had been together all the time during training.

The familiar screech of banshee fliers filled the air and Shar looked up. A trio of the sleek purple single-pilot ships glided overhead. Kat moved into the open and raised the grenade launcher. She fired and Shar moved out, overcharging the plasma pistol. The grenade detonated between two of the banshees and the fliers started to drop from the sky. Shar fired and the overcharged shot hit the final vehicle and it dropped down behind the others. The Spartans sprang into action, racing toward the disabled ships, pulling open the cockpits and pulling out the elite pilots before slipping in and securing themselves in.

A second later the controls flared to life before Shar and she grabbed them, angling up and hitting the gas. She checked her motion tracker and the two banshees that followed turned yellow as her teammates hijacked them. The three vehicles moved into formation and Kat took the lead with the other two trailing. They headed toward the Covenant camp.

"Concentrate on the turrets, but if you get a chance, take out any heavy weapons that you can find." Shar flashed a green light and set her sights on the closest shade. She switched the weapons over to the fuel rod gun and fired. The ball of green energy slammed into the shade and turned it into a pile of smoldering metal. Two more of the shades burst into balls of green as the other banshees fired. Shar barrel rolled to the right as plasma fire streaked through the sky. She tuned the banshee and let it lock-on before she fired again, destroying one of the two remain shades. Kat fired on the last one and it was destroyed.

"Shades taken out, now focus on the AA gun." Shar turned her banshee and they fell into line, side by side, firing as one. The green shots hit the AA gun and the metal heated. Shar switched over to plasma fire and started to bathe the still heated metal in as much plasma as she could. The others followed suit and sparks began to fly from the structure. Finally, the AA gun exploded. The three banshees turned and darted through the air. The Covenant forces below had started to fire, shots crisscrossing in the air, most of them far from hitting the targets.

"We're going to make another pass. I want to take out as many of them as we can. Have to give the rest of the teams a better chance of surviving." Kat opened fire and plasma shots cut through the infantry as the trio turned to make a second pass over the Covenant camp. Katy moved a bit to the left and took aim at a group of elites. She fired and the leader aliens went for cover. She dropped down a bit closer to the enemies and slowed as she searched to be sure that she hadn't missed any.

Long powerful beams of green shot through the air. The shots clipped Katy's banshee and it lost altitude, nearly hitting the ground. Shots from the surrounding grunts and jackals splashed over the sides of her banshee.

"Katy!" Kat fired on the source of the shots, her fuel rod shot hitting one of the hunters dead center. Shar shot the second one leaving, behind the broken armor of the monstrous alien.

Katy's banshee pulled up a bit, gaining back some of its altitude. She straightened out and joined them in returning to their temporary base. "I'm all right. This thing is just banged up a bit. Weapon systems are down, but other than that I'm good."

"Head back to base. We got our mission done, that's what matters." The banshees sped through the air toward the camp. "What is that?"

"Wraith." Shar's voice was cold as she spotted the purple tank. "It's hitting our base." The temporary base that Kilo and November had been using was under assault, the wraith pounding it with shot after shot.

"We have to stop it." Kat opened fire and the wraith stopped. The wraith turned and took aim at Kat's banshee, tracking it and preparing to fire. Shar felt a pique of fear as she realized that the wraith's pilot probably knew more about how to use the tank. While it would take a human a while to get used to the angle, the Covenant driver was trained with it. It would easily be able to shoot Kat out of the sky. The wraith fired and its aim was perfect. The rear of Kat's vehicle was hit and it plummeted. The banshee hit the ground and bits and pieces broke apart as it crashed. Kat flew from the crash, hitting the ground hard.

The wraith turned to finish her off and Shar tried to turn faster, give her teammate cover, but there was no time. She opened her mouth to warn Kat to run, but stopped as she spotted a purple shape diving. Katy's banshee was falling from the sky, directly toward the wraith. The banshee hit the tank and the two vehicles burst into brilliant blue flames. Shar heard Kat shout over the COM but Shar was deaf to it. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. Katy had just rammed the wraith, sacrificing herself to protect Kat.

Shar landed her banshee. Kat struggled to her feet and raced toward the wreckage. Shar joined her and stared at the still burning metal of the two alien vehicles. Kat stopped beside it, unable to find any sign of her lost friend. Shar took a step back, allowing the other woman a moment. Kat looked down at the ground and knelt, picking up the pistol on the ground. The metal was slightly scorched and scratched.

Shar moved over to stand beside her, glancing down at the pistol. "We need to see if any of the others are still alive." Kat nodded numbly and turned, sprinting toward the charred base. "Fireteam Kilo, November, acknowledge." Shar moved into the structure and stopped at the sight inside. The wraith had ruined the inside of the building. Crates of supplies had been burnt and melted. What were worse were the six bodies that lay on the ground.

"Ted?" Kat moved to her team leader's side. He didn't respond and she fell to her knees. Shar moved up behind her, looking around. She couldn't even tell which were her former team. She felt a bit of loss as she realized that they were gone, but she found that pain easy to push aside.

Kat removed her helmet and Shar looked down at the devastated look on her face. "I should have been here. I should have followed orders." The woman shook her head and Shar frowned.

"If you had stayed, those shades would still be out there, so would that AA gun, and you would be dead." Shar didn't try to soften it. It was fact. There was nothing the woman's presence could have done.

"I messed things ups, Wolf. My team, and November, both are gone." She shook her head. "And Katy." Shar flinched at the tone of voice. Kat was taking this hard. Was that what it was to have a team? To be vulnerable to the pain she could see plainly on Kat's face? "I shouldn't have had us make that second pass. We should have headed directly back to base." Shar kept her mouth closed. It was true; the second pass had been what had gotten Katy killed. Though it hadn't just been that. The other Spartan had gone too low, put herself in the line of fire. It was partially the fallen Spartan's fault, though she knew that Kat wouldn't listen to that reason. "What are you going to do

?" Shar turned away from the sight, watching the entrance. She couldn't stand to look at it all anymore.

"I'll find another team, fill any missing gaps." Kat stood up and looked down at the pistol. "Ted was right. I shouldn't lead missions." He hung her head in shame. "I'll never lead a mission again." Shar barely heard the words at all. Kat turned and passed Shar, moving out into the open. She stopped beside the broken vehicles. "Where will go you?"

Shar grabbed the fallen helmet from the ground and walked out behind Kat. "I'll find a place where I get connection to command. I'll get new orders and do whatever they want me to."

Kat nodded. "Well, as long as you are fighting, I'm sure that we'll win this one." She moved to walk away, but Shar put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. Kat turned back and Shar handed her the SPI helmet. Kat took it and slipped it on.

"Good luck, Kat, and remember, following orders isn't everything. Cut yourself a little slack." Shar removed her hand from the other Spartan's shoulder.

Kat nodded and moved off into the forest. Shar surveyed the scene one more time before she ran off in the opposite direction.

Shar titled her head to the side. "Did you say that Kat was going to run the op?"

Carter looked toward her and nodded. "Yes, she will be. Kat's run plenty of ops in the past. Just follow her orders and you'll be fine. Trust her."

"I do sir…It's just…She's willing to lead an op?" Shar's voice gave away her surprise.

Carter stared and Shar could feel his eyes boring into her. "You know something I don't know?" He didn't sound at all pleased about that.

Shar shook her head. "No, sir. I don't think I do. Though I think you know something I don't."

Carter looked away. "Well, that's how the chain of command is supposed to work." He paused for a moment, lost in his own thoughts and Shar waited patiently. She wondered what he was thinking about, what he thought that he knew that she didn't. She somehow doubted that he knew what she had been talking about. "That will be all, Lieutenant. Report to Kat."

Shar nodded and turned, leaving the room. She smiled behind her visor. It was good to know that some old wounds could heal.


	10. Aperture

Aperture

Note: If you haven't played Portal 2 and you are planning on, then you probably don't want to read. This has references of Portal1 & 2. This is really for the portal fans. Had it in my head and had to write it.

Shar moved through the ruins of the laboratory. She had to admit this was one of the easiest missions she'd been given in a long time. She moved across the catwalks, trying to figure out how she was going to get up to her destination. She was supposed to get into the heart of the laboratory, get the data from the main system on the results of some testing. Shar didn't know what they had tested. Apparently that was black inked to a point even she wasn't allowed to see. There was a side order to retrieve a white object, some sort of new tech, though they had been reluctant to tell her more.

Shar ran along a catwalk, not so sure that it could handle her weight properly. There were so many large gaps from what she assumed were years of decay. Even more unsettling there was the large lake of acid below her. Why did a laboratory need a lake of acid? She brought up the layout of the area on her HUD and frowned. This place was huge, but at least she knew where she was going. The hard part was really just figuring out how to get where she wanted to. Shar unconsciously reached back, fingers running over the top of her jetpack, being sure it was there. One wrong leap, to far of a distance, and she'd burn up in the acid. Not an appealing ending.

She'd already gone deep into the facility. She'd passed volunteer waiting areas, old faded paintings of some man named Cave Johnson, and even a large broken down sign that marked what must have been the original entrance. The whole time prerecorded messages from Mr. Johnson, who by now Shar understood was the founder of the company, would play from speakers around her, saying some of the weirdest things. The recording spouted odd things about tumors, experiments, and sixty dollars. She wasn't sure exactly what sort of currency a dollar was, though it seemed to tell her how long ago the recordings had been.

Shar reached one of the highest levels, the way she'd have to take in order to get to the main control. She'd been warned that there was something dangerous there, but they had said that as long as she had no breaks in her suit, she'd be fine. Shar wondered what this danger was, and how prepared she needed to be.

Shar reached what she considered to be more new and sturdy catwalks. The metal looked newer, taken care of. She glanced back, looking out the door where she'd come. It was like a completely different world in here. This area was new, safe, but where she'd been was old. She wondered what was keeping the newer part in shape. She'd been told that no one had been there in years, so who was taking care of everything? Shar stepped forward and the door shut before her with a hissing seal. There was no turning back now.

The Spartan III made her way through a maze of catwalks and moving machinery. Everything seemed so busy, and alive, it was confusing. It was an inactive facility, but there was so much going on. She walked down a hallway and spotted an assembly line. Small oval robots with three legs were being passed by a scanner, the odd thing was that what looked like the properly built ones were being thrown across the room into an incinerator. Shar watched this happen a few times before she stepped in, grabbing one out of the air. She held it facing away from her as the sides folded out and she realized what it was. It was a little robotic turret. A red laser searched the area and found nothing while the turret asked if anyone was there in the most innocent and slightly adorable voice that Shar had ever heard.

Shar decided to keep the turret with her. It started to chatter, not turning off as she picked it up and walked through the hallways with it. It spouted odd things about lemons, something below them, and a woman named Caroline. Shar listened to it unit it fell silent for a few minutes. It then started to spout something about how nice she was and what a noble warrior she must be to save such a poor soul. Shar listened to the mindless babble until she reached the hallway to the main control room. She'd made it halfway down before a panel opened on her right and she was faced by five sentry turrets. Shar rolled to the side, dropping her turret as she did. The five turrets opened fire and she watched as the bullets pinged off of the turret she'd dropped until it fell over, dented from all the impacts, and finally it folded up, letting out a pitiful announcement of it shutting down. Shar frowned. She liked that turret and they'd destroyed it. She grabbed a grenade from her belt and tossed it into the cluster of turrets. They all tried to get a fix on her, red eyes following as she moved, but just as they prepared to fire, the grenade went off, sending them flying. A few frantically fired as they flew through the air and hit the ground before shutting down.

Shar moved over to her turret, kneeling down and carefully picking up. The red eye remained dull and she felt bad for the little destroyed robot. Shar moved over to the fallen turrets and quickly arranged them, setting them up to make a sort of platform and she set her turret on the top. She took a step back and saluted her turret before she moved on. She really shouldn't get partners, they never seemed to last. Shar moved into the main controls, and looked up at the large computer that hung in the center of the room. She moved forward and the great mass moved, one golden eye turning to look at her. "You killed my turrets." The voice was sweet, too sweet. It had a polite tone, but there was something in the words that showed that the machine wasn't happy.

"They killed my turret." Shar looked over the structure, trying to figure out where the main database was. "Who are you?"

"I am the Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, but most just call me GLaDOS." The long rectangular appendage, which Shar could only identify as the machine's head, moved to look at her better. "Well at least you aren't a mute. I hate mutes. The last one that was here killed me, _twice_, and then got me put in a potato."

Shar raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's a nice potato you have there." She started to move through the room. "So you must be, what…An AI left in charge of the facility?"

The robot turned to follow the Spartan as she moved. "Yes, I am the one in charge of this facility. I run the tests. Did you come here to test? I am in need of willing human test subjects…well I guess willing might be over qualification."

"No, I was sent here to get some test data, and pick up some weird white object, though I don't know what." Shar moved to the wall, looking for any sort of controls which might give her access. She was mostly ignoring GLaDOS. The AI might be rampant, or just talk weirdly for all she knew. Really Shar wasn't afraid of mass of wires and metal hanging in the middle of a room.

"I have all the testing data." The words brought Shar's attention back to GLaDOS. "I have been doing a lot of testing." A screen appeared showing two robots sliding around on an odd orange gel. One robot was a round sphere with arms and legs while the other appearing to be a human like turret. "I have much better test subjects now."

"So then you can give me the data, and this object?" Shar eyed the image, wondering if these were what she had been sent to get.

"I can give you the data, and what I believe you are looking for." GLaDOS turned the screen off and turned her attention back to the soldier. "Just give me a moment to make that data transferable."

Shar moved to the middle of the room and sat down before GLaDOS. She didn't really feel threatened, and the AI was helping her. "So, then all you do is test, nothing else?"

GLaDOS didn't reply right away and Shar figured she just hadn't been listening. "I am compelled by my love of science to test." GLaDOS eyed the Spartan. "And what are you? What is your function?"

"I'm a Spartan, a soldier. My function is to do what I'm told, kill things most of the time." Shar was simple in her answer. She'd always felt a sort of connection with dumb AI. They had only certain functions they were useful for, limited. As a solder, forever a solder, it was all she was limited to.

"I like killing." The words were upbeat and Shar frowned. AI were supposed to serve people, not want to kill them. "It would have been nice to have someone like you around when that mute was here." There was something in the AI's voice that made Shar question if she really meant it, or if it was just a stubborn resentment that made her say such things.

The two sat in silence until Shar finally spoke. "So GLaDOS is the name that they gave you, but do you ever have a name you'd rather go buy?"

The AI seemed to think it over, her golden eye looking about as her body swung in thought. "I suppose, I'd like to be called Caroline." The AI swung back around. "But Caroline is dead."

Shar tilted her head to the side, not understanding. How could the AI want to be called that, but then call herself dead? She decided that there was some sort of information she was missing. She'd been lost in her thoughts, and memories of the turret spouting something about a Caroline.

"You know, I sometimes do miss that lunatic mute. She may have killed me, but she was a good test subject." GLaDOS lowered herself slightly. "I wonder if she is still alive."

Shar stared at the large computer, a bit confounded by her attitude. She'd spoken so badly of the mute at first but here the AI was wondering if the person was still alive. It didn't seem very logical to Shar. She thought it over until the large robotic head lowered almost all the way down to her. A small data matrix appeared and Shar grabbed it, safely tucked it away.

"So much testing done, and so much still to come. Who cares where that mute, fat, orphan went." GLaDOS' voice was resentful as she withdrew, rising up and away from Shar. "I must get back to testing." A part of the floor opened and a white object rose up out of the ground. "I believe that this is what you want."

Shar wanted to say something to the AI about how there was nothing wrong with being an orphan but she was distracted by the object. She simply shrugged, not really understanding if it was the object or not, or why someone would want it. She paused for a moment. "I hope you learn a lot, and that you make progress in your testing. Maybe one day the mute will return to you." Shar grabbed the object and moved away.

"I hope she does not." The AI's voice sounded angry, but didn't really sound like she meant it. Her voices suddenly softened as she continued. "And I hope you burn down someone's house." GLaDOS' voice was genuine. "I can take you up to the surface." Shar stopped and nodded. She didn't understand what the scientists had meant by dangerous. The AI seemed to be rather pleasant, a bit weird and conflicted but still pleasant. "You know, I bet you would be hard to kill."

Shar was a bit surprised by the random statement. "Well, I've been blown up, shot, and stabbed, so I've proven to be pretty hard to kill."

GLaDOS seemed to think for a moment, though for all Shar knew she was just preparing a way up. The AI turned to look at her. "Then it is best if you leave, like the mute. My test subjects work just fine, and they would be easier to kill."

Shar was about to question that when she suddenly found herself rising up. She went higher and higher, and held onto the object tight as they moved up. The lift finally stopped and Shar stepped out into the light, setting the object down as she looked around at the wheat field. She looked back and the rusted door to the shed shut tight and most likely locked behind her.

Shar shrugged, what did she care. She moved over to the object and whipped away a bit of the dust, looking at the uncovered pink heart. She didn't understand why the scientist would want a cube, but she wasn't about to question it. She lifted up the cube and set it on her shoulder. "Well, let's get out of here." She could almost swear as she walked off into the filed that she could hear the sound of her fallen turret, thanking her. She glanced toward the cube and felt an odd sense of companionship. She smiled behind her visor, holding the cube a bit tighter.

When she got back to the base she presented the cube to the scientist, though she felt oddly alone without it. The scientist simply stared at her, confused as to why they have brought her a cube. A door opened and a woman in high white boots and an orange jump suit ran into the room, moving to the cube and hugging it lovingly. Shar just watched her before she heard one of the scientists calling her a mute lunatic. Shar knelt down beside the woman. "GLaDOS says hi, and I think she misses you." The woman smiled and hugged the cube tighter before Shar stood up and moved out of the room.


	11. Fragments part 1

Note: These are not edited, i know that they have spelling and grammar issues. They were done as a writing exercise and I thought you all might enjoy them.

01. Threat

The insurrectionists Had no idea that she was even there. Ever in the darkness of the shadows. Not a single one of them had even the slightest clue of what was lurking so close. They sat at their posts, completely at ease. None of them suspect the threat that slinks closer and closer to the base, around the back and slips in. She is death, the reaper, and she was on a mission.

02. Empire

She sat back, reading the file on the great Roman Empire. She enjoyed looking into the past, learning all that she could. It was odd to her how often things seemed to be repeated. Although humans taught their children the past, they still seemed to repeat the mistakes time and time again. She thought they were supposed to learn from the past, so that they didn't repeat it. She finished the document and clicked it closed. She oddly felt at the moment like humanity was running the same course. It had become such a great Empire, but here it was falling. Maybe humanity was doomed to repeat itself.

03. Falter

She struggled to continue on. Her legs felt heavy and her chest didn't want to expand to take in air. The burns on her arms and her leg made her want to cry out in pain with each and every step. Her right knee buckled and she stumbled for just a moment before grabbing the wall to hold herself steady. She wasn't sure if she could continue on. Her gaze turned to the wall and she saw the crimson blood splattered over the surface. She stood up, newfound strength keeping her on her feet. She had people to save, aliens to fight. She couldn't falter now.

04. Compliment

She heard all the time about how great she was, how strong, and how she'd saved people's lives. She was used to all the compliments, all the chatting. All of it seemed hollow to her. She'd saved them, yes, but how many had died before she reached them. In the end the compliments were drowned out by her failures, by those that had fallen.

05. Glass

She had never actually seen it happen. They always took her off the planet or she was on some planet that they weren't glassing. She'd heard soldiers, their descriptions of it. She'd watched civilians be slaughtered by the Covenant, but somehow glassing seemed a thousand times worse. Burning a planet until there was nothing left, nothing but death. She remembered the cruisers in the sky of her own home planet. She wondered how soon after she'd seen them that the glassing had started. She'd never even been back to the planet to see if they had glassed it. She pushed the thought away. If it had been, she'd rather remember it as it was when she'd lived there, pure and untouched by Covenant kind.

06. Honor

She stared down at the fallen elite. The energy sword was still grasped tightly in its hand. She felt a pang of sadness. These elites, they fought with dignity, strength, and honor. It somehow hurt her to know that such creatures could be her enemy. She hated them yet at the same time she respected them. Though, a healthy respect for your enemy was a good thing to have. It would make it less likely that she'd mess up, that she'd get killed. This elite had challenged her, one-on-one, and the others had stood back to allow it. None had interfered, all waited until she had slayed the commander before they attacked. She stood and saluted the fallen elite. He had died for his cause, as she was willing to do for hers. She would honor that.

07. Work

She stared at the screen before her, reading over the document one last time. She was not a fan of the paper work. Give her a gun, some grenades, and something to kill and she was happy as could be. Put her in front of a terminal and tell her she had to write up everything she did, in precise detail, and she was in hell. She checked over for data, spelling, and grammar mistakes. She was satisfied and send in the document. She supposed that she could put up with the mind numbing paper work as long as she got to kill Covenant.

08. Jealous

She watched the group of ODST playing a game of soccer out in the field. She was jealous of them. They had free time, were able to play games. She stood in the laboratory, technicians working on suiting her up in her Mark IV modified ODST armor. She looked over toward the rounded helmet of her armor. She felt another pang of jealousy. While she wore ODST armor, she could never call herself one. She was a Spartan, and that was all she could be.

09. Strings

Nothing was ever clear cut or free. That was the case with right now. Her body ached and she was really starting to get annoyed. She'd gotten some rest time on base, something she really needed as a few of her injuries had been slow to heal. There were strings attached to the down time, though. She'd been set to test a new laser powered weapon, called a Spartan laser. The weapon had shorted out and she'd gotten a good burn from it. She'd gotten down time, but now she had even more injuries that needed to heal.

10. Semantics

She wondered if she would have been a soldier. If the Covenant had not killed all that she had, would she still be a part of the forces. It ran in the family, yes, but she would have chosen it. She could have chosen not to make the jump, not to have taken part in the training. What then had caused her to do it? Was it her blood, or her hatred that had brought her to leap? She pushed the thought aside. I was all semantics. Chose, forced, it didn't matter. She was on this path, and she'd follow it until her last day of life.

11. Innocence

She couldn't really remember a time when she was innocent. Her last memory had been the death of her mother, and from that point on, she didn't feel that innocent was a word that described her. She'd forced the innocence out of herself. It had spilled out like the blood of the grunt, splattered onto the streets of her home planet with each and every strike of the rock. Her innocence was dead. All for the better in the end. There was no place for innocence in a soldier.

12. Dispose

She stared down at the image of the holostill. She looked at the four smiling face. They were only ghosts now. She'd gotten the word about the failed mission, about what had happened to her Company. In a flash all of her former team was gone. She frowned at the emotions she felt. Their deaths shouldn't affect her like this. She hadn't been teammates with them in so long. Why did she care? She couldn't allow herself to care, feel this sorrow or pain, the Covenant gave her enough of that. She turned off the still and moved over to the trash. She disposed of the device. As it fell into the receptacle she willed her memories to go with it, her bonds and attachment to those that she'd lost.

13. Blaze

Everything was burning around her. She hit the ground as a gas tank exploded, sending a ball of flames through the room. Keeping low she crawled her way to the doorway. She stood, quickly slamming her foot against the door and rushing outside. She didn't stop until she was on the other side of the street. The building was nothing but one great blaze, echoing what was happening all over the city. The pained cries of burning grunts could be heard in the upper levels and she smirked. If they were going to burn the city, she was going to be sure they burned with it.

14. Neglect

The medic and technician had both chewed her out after the last mission. She'd damaged her armor up pretty badly, and herself. She'd been lectured on how she shouldn't neglect her equipment and physical safety. She tuned it all out. There was no room for worrying about her own safety of the condition of her armor. She was trying to save lives, stop rebels, and defeat that covenant. If to do that she had to neglect a few things, then it was a sacrifice that she would have to make. The fresh cuts on her chest ached as she moved. A bit of pain was a small price to pay for the evac transports that had gotten away.

15. Quake

She stood before the methane breathing alien. It was crouched, trying to cover its head with its large hands. It quaked in fear before her and it gave an odd sense of satisfaction. She hadn't moved to attack it, or even had been close to it when it had fallen into fear. She wasn't even sure that the grunt knew she was there. From the way it wouldn't look up it was just waiting for the end to come, not wanting to see it coming. She raised her pistol and fired one round. The body fell to the ground, finally still.

16. Guess

There was no mathematics behind it. She hadn't stopped to figure out the physics, wind resistance, velocity. She'd always hated physics anyway, never really got the hang of it. She'd spotted the fliers and she was standing on the cliff. What math did she need? She positioned herself as she thought what was the idea position and waited. She made her best guess. She took off at a full run and jumped from the cliff, landing right on one of the banshees. It was a damn good guess.

17. Quarrel

She watched the aliens, confused by their actions. The grunts and jackals were quarreling with each other. The veteran jackal was trying to get the grunts to move ahead, right toward her trap, but the smaller aliens were refusing. She'd never seen it happen before. She'd never seen the Covenant fight among itself, though she found it oddly calming that they were. Somehow, the idea that so many species were all together made them seem so much greater, but just like different races of humans Not all in the Covenant seemed to see eye to eye. She sat back to wait. Eventually one of the species would move ahead, and then she would pounce.

18. Brood

She was starting to think that Humanity wasn't going to make it. They were losing ground day by day, planet by planet, and there seemed to be no end. The soldiers were tired, and she was growing tired. If they couldn't fend off the Covenant, then what could they do? Hide away in small clumps so that they couldn't be found? Most likely they'd fight until the last human was snuffed out by Covenant forces. She stopped her train of thought. There was no reason to brood over what might be. She only needed to care about the now, the mission. The higher ups could care about the future.

19. Effort

She put all her strength into her activity. It took all her effort to get the door to even move an inch. The cries for help on the other side spurred her on. She wasn't going to let them down. The cries of children echoed in her ear and she doubled her effort. The door creaked open and finally something inside of it broke. The heavy metal slid easily as she pushed against it. The cries were louder now. She turned and ran toward the civilians.

20. Now

The past seemed to be haunting her. She watched teams of soldiers having dinner and it reminded her of her days in training. Each and every time her pelican moved in the dead of night to her next mission she would remember all those that she had killed. Covenant and rebels alike. She tried to block it all out, keep her mind on the here and now. She needed to stay focused, get her missions done, maybe then she could look back to now and remember it fondly.

21. Solve

She put the last of the pieces in place. The screen turned green and a new puzzle showed up. She usually wouldn't bother with such simple games but she wanted to keep her mind sharp in her free time. She solved the next puzzle and was rewarded with a flashing green screen and a small penguin dancing. She raised an eyebrow at the image. She clicked off the screen and stared at the now black screen. That was weird.

22. Rest

She didn't often get time to relax. She lay on her cot, trying to get some rest. She tossed and turned, unable to get to sleep. Her back ached from the sword injury that still was healing. She moved onto her chest and it caused the scars on her chest to itch. She cursed the Covenant. She'd killed those that had hurt her, yet here they still plagued her. The reminders of her past fights kept her from a good night's sleep. She moved onto her side and finally found a position that was comfortable. Her eyes had just eased closed when the door to her room opened. So much for getting some rest.

23. Soon

Soon everything was going to change, and she didn't like it. She was a lone wolf, and that was what she was good at. She didn't want a team, or anyone to watch her back. She was fine on her own and there was no reason to change that. The officers above her saw things differently. They saw fit to change everything that she knew, to change how she worked. In the end she really didn't have a choice. She'd have to live with their choice.

24. Listen

She often listened to the people of the base. The chatter of the soldiers was sometimes more insightful then the information she got from ONI. They also talked about more interesting topics. Most spent their free time talking about training and she found herself comparing their stories to her own training. It was odd how different it felt to her. She could point out what was similar, and what was different. She oddly found that the ODST seemed to be the most similar. She listened to stories of soldiers back home, of friends and family waiting for them. This was usually what made her tune the other soldiers out. She had no one waiting for her, no one to go back to.

25. Haze

Whenever she tried to focus on something from the past, it always seemed so hard. She tried to see her mother's face, but it was clouded and hazy. She tried to remember her team from training, but she found it hard to picture them. She didn't remember her former home. The only thing that was still crystal clear was the shinning knights in green armor. They were in her dream, clear as the day she first saw them. They stood tall in the haze of the memories she was slowly loosing, untouched by time.


	12. Fragments part 2

Note: These are not edited, i know that they have spelling and grammar issues. They were done as a writing exercise and I thought you all might enjoy them.

26. Excite

There wasn't very much in the universe that could excite her. The sight of the specially modified ODST armor was one of the first in many years. She loved the blue tints on the dark black metal. The pure elegance of it, the simplicity and sleek look was brilliant. The blue visor gleamed up at her and reflected her face. She turned it around and slipped it on. The HUD came to life and a smile spread over her face. Yes, this was diffidently something she was excited about.

27. Verbal

Verbal was not a word for her. She wasn't a big fan of talking, more of listening to others. When she did have to speak, she kept is short and simple. Soldiers had tried to get her into conversations but she'd become skillful at avoiding them. Being vague was always her secret weapon. The more vague she was, the more people didn't ask questions, thinking that everything was secret. Really, she just didn't want to talk, wasn't interested in their personal questions. Not that she had answers for most of them. Those that she did, she didn't want to answer.

28. Fragment

There was nothing but fragments left. What had once been her old armor was now ruined. The hunger had stepped on her helmet and the reflective visor material. Most of her armor was burned from plasma shots and a bit of it had been cracked from needler rounds. Her thigh burned from where several had lodged and then detonated, destroying the armor there and shattered inside of her leg. Things seemed odd without her HUD to guide her, to help her radio for help. She dropped the fragment to the ground. No use crying over broken armor.

29. Inert

The hunter tried to run forward but she remained inert. She wouldn't let it get past. She had to hold them off long enough that the marines could get away. The giant alien roared in anger and put more weight on its shield. She put her full force against the shield on the opposite side, keeping them from moving anywhere. The hunter took a step back and she managed to stay on her feet. She shifted her stance. She wouldn't move, not even an inch. The hunger roared and charged. She was ready.

30. Classic

The UNSC was always coming out with new weapons. The Assault rifle, the Spartan laser. In the end they all paired in comparison to the DMR in her view. It was sleek, precise, and always shot straight. There wasn't much more that she could want from a weapon for daily use. Sure, nothing beat a sniper rifle for long range, and she did enjoy using a rocket launcher on a wraith, but when she was faced down with a squad of elites and grunts, she loved her DMR. The rounds tore perfectly through grunts. The one two toe then head killing technique that she'd mastered for shielded jackals was satisfying. The precision and strength made it easy to cut down elite shields and place a round through their head. Really, there was nothing like a classic DRM.

31. Animal

She really didn't' want to leave it behind. The animal didn't ask to be stuck here on this planet. It had been a pet, part of someone's family. The little feline meowed and she hesitated. The pelican arrived and she was surprised that the cat didn't run away. It sat before her, only slouched down a bit so that the jet exhaust didn't blow her off the box she was sitting on. She hesitated for a moment before she reached over, picking up the feline. She carried it to the pelican, ignoring the confused look she got from the other soldiers in the ship. There was silence until the rear hatch had closed and it was obvious that the cat would be coming with them. At that point, the soldier next to her broke out into a story about the cat he used to own. She looked down at the feline who had curled up in her lap and was attempting to fall asleep.

32. Jagged

She pulled the jagged piece of metal from her torso. It had impaled below her left breast, shattering the lower part of her chest armor. She cursed herself for not having moved faster. If she'd jumped off sooner, gotten away, she wouldn't be hurt like this. She'd underestimated the damage she'd done and the wraith had blown up in her face rather than when she was far enough away. Her hand moved to cover the wound as she tried to stop the bleeding. Damn wraiths.

33. Strange

She wasn't normal that was for sure, even for those of her company. It was strange, the gap between herself and the other soldiers. She could work all on her own, they depended on working in teams. She was the same age as most of the others, but she felt so much older. She could beat them all out in any weapon, any time. It felt odd being so separate from all of them yet going by the same name. Spartan had always felt like the right title for her, but the III at the end seemed to be more and more distant with each mission. Strangely, she felt more at ease around 52 and 117 than she had around any Spartan III.

34. Measure

She had made sure that everything was the right length. Her HUD had helped to be sure that everything was measured perfectly and she'd made sure the strength was perfect. Usually she would just slaughter them all rather than make such an elaborate trap. She sat and waited. The barks grew closer and closer and still she waited. There was a sudden cries as the grunts fell. She moved to the edge of the pitfall and stared down at the aliens as they tried to right themselves, crammed in the pit. Time to interrogate.

35. Ashes

As she looked at the partially glasses world around her words echoed in her head. Covered in ash, covered in glass, covered in all my friends, I still think of the bombs they built. It had been a song on a chip given to her by an ODST who she had chatted with…well more of had chatted at her. Oddly at this moment the song seemed to fit her situation. She brought up the playlist on her HUD, something she'd modified in the equipment, and played the song. She moved forward, humming along with the tune.

36. Leave

She'd packed up her things long before any of the other Spartan IIIs had been given instructions that they would be going anywhere. A pelican would be waiting for her to take her to the cruiser that was drifting beside the medical ship she was currently on. She thought of saying goodbye, of seeing the company one last time, maybe for the last time ever. She decided against it. There would be questions if she did. Why wasn't she going with a team? Why was it only here? Why were the rest of them still stuck on the ship? They were all questions she didn't have answers for, so she left in silence, without a word to anyone else.

37. Fit

She was always in top physical form. She did weight training, running, and anything else she could come up with to stay fit. Not that combat didn't do that for her but between battles, she was almost always in the gym. People didn't bother her while she was exercising. Though she found some soldiers liked to talk while running. It was when she found out that simply putting on some music, earbuds visible, made people leave her even more alone. It had led to a new issue, soldiers giving her music. As soon as a soldier would notice them they'd ask about what she was listening to, what music she liked, and if she'd heard of particular bands. It started a trend, soldier giving her data chips with libraries of music on them. Some of it was good, some of it was crap. At least all of it was free.

38. Elusive

She'd fought with herself for some time about what she considered herself. She wasn't sure exactly how right term for what she considered herself. She was more like the three she'd met so long ago then those she's trained with. She didn't feel like human was right. All the other soldiers were human, and she didn't feel like one of them. They were shorter, weaker then she was. It wasn't until an elite shouted at her in the battle field that she found the elusive title that fit. The ultra elite had screamed at the grunts and she'd grinned at the title. She was a demon. Yes, that would work.

39. Painstaking

Every part and mechanism has to be in working order or everything could go wrong. She was constantly doing repairs and upkeep on the metal bits. She took painstaking care of her arm. It was probably the only part of her that got regularly taken care of. The technicians had offered to do it, but she felt better if she was the one being sure that everything was in order. It wasn't that she didn't trust ONI…well maybe she didn't always, but there was something more trustable about a job that you did on your own. This way, she was sure that there were no screw ups, no missing part that would get her killed because her arm stopped working. Though she admitted it did seem a bit odd that she was often jabbing into her arm with a screwdriver.

40. Unfold

She sat at the edge of the bridge waiting as the metal plates expanded and unfolded. The warthog purred under her and she wished she had a gunner. Sure a hog could kill almost anything it ran into, but the little buggers were harder to hit then they looked, and the last thing she needed was her bumper being blasted off by plasma happy grunts. There was a loud clang as the bridge snapped into place and was secured. She perked up as she spotted a soldier on the other side. The soldier waved and she drove over. There were no words exchanged, he must have been on the same ship as her. The soldier climbed onto the back, manning the gun. She hit the gas and they bounced off over the landscape. Any gunner was better than none.

41. Wrap

She stared at the orange eel-like alien on her forearm. She'd never seen anything like it. Was this really what hunters were made of? Alone this little alien wasn't a match for her, but a hunter together was a different story. She marveled for a moment that these eels could work together to make such a destructive force. She shook her arm, trying to dislodge it, but it wouldn't budge .She grabbed it and tried to pull it off, but it held tight. She sighed, even alone these things were hard to get rid of.

42. Friend

The idea of having friends wasn't really familiar to her. Even of her team during training she wasn't exactly friends with them. She couldn't remember having any friends back on her planet. Was she just not someone that people wanted as a friend, or was it that she didn't put in enough effort? She'd always only been herself. Even the soldiers that talked to her didn't really seem to know her. They called her nicknames like monster or she-tank, the latter of which she hated. Still, none of them went out of the way to talk to her other then they wanted to say they'd talked to a Spartan. Those that did act friendly didn't stick around for long, or they were killed on the next mission. Maybe it was better she didn't have friends. If she was alone, all she had to worry about was herself, only her own safety. Still, at least one friend would be nice.

43. Swift

She was fast a lightening. She moved across the battle field like a swift wind, bringing death to her enemy. There wasn't even a chance for the grunts to react before she'd emptied all 15 shots into their skills, sending blood flying through the air like confetti. She put on one last burst of speed and dropped down, sliding just barely under the blulkhead doors before they sealed shut. She stood up and dusted herself off, looking around at the civilians that were gathered. They stared at her, eyes wide. She brushed it off and moved deeper into the shelter, looking for a radio to contact a ship above.

44. Seasons

She never really recognized the changing of the seasons. She'd go from planet to planet and she had no idea what season it was. Some the trees would be bare, but that might have only been due to Covenant burning all of them away. On reality the concept of a season was mute to someone that was traveling from planet to planet. Each one was at a different time of its year. Inside of her suit temperature didn't matter, and she could drudge through snow just as easily as walk across a muddy field. Summer, spring, winter, or fall, as long as there were Covenant to kill, it didn't matter to her.

45. Need

There weren't many things she needed. Shelter at night where she felt safe enough to sleep. Rations that could get her though a long fight without staring to death. She needed clean water like all other living things, though she could drink slightly dirty water in a pinch. She needed sleep, though sometimes that was harder to come by then she would like. Enemies lurking around always seemed to make it impossible to sleep. Last, she needed something to fight, anything. Covenant, insurrectionists, it didn't matter. As long as she had something to kill, she was happier than a child getting their first puppy.

46. Five

Strong, that was for sure. Friendly came to mind as soon as she talked to him. He was good to have as backup, that he had proven. With his turret he could lay down cover fire like it was a brick wall. Made her feel more comfortable to have him around to cut down the small fry while she went after the elites. Jorge was diffidently a good Five.

47. Four

She couldn't get past the carved skull on his helmet. It was, intriguing to her. Where had he gotten the idea? What was he hiding behind that visor? Why didn't he want to show his face when the rest of the team was so open to showing theirs? She couldn't blame him on the last part. She didn't feel comfortable showing her fact too often either. He was violent, which she approved of. She was going to like this Four, Emile.

48. Three

She had to admit he was weird. When sniping quiet was your greatest friend, yet he didn't get that. Although he was a brilliant sniper, the man didn't know when to shut up. She had to fight the urge to slap him when he wouldn't be quiet. Though maybe it was just annoying to her because she didn't really like words. Then again it might have been his voice. She didn't mind the others chatting, or when she heard them over the radio during a mission. Perhaps it was because he was up above, out of the action, and he didn't need to concentrate like she did. At least his chatty tendencies were less distracting then the death cries of soldiers. She'd have to get to this Three, the oddly short named Jun."

49. Two

She'd recognized the woman right away, though she hadn't been recognized by the woman. Odd how they could have spent so much time together during training, but somehow they 'd grown so far apart. Still, the woman was brilliant back there, and seemed to have only gotten better. She was surprised how far the woman had risen in the ranks. It had taken her this long to become a Lieutenant and here her old fellow trainee was now a Lieutenant Commander, the same rank as the man that had run their training. She was glad to have Kat back at her side, even if she was outranked. She was diffidently a good choice of a Two.

50. One

A leader if she ever saw one. She saw in him what she saw in the three so long ago. He stood tall and strong for his team, something she respected. He was close to the members of his team, understood them better then he sometimes let on. She envied the bond that she saw between him and Two. She'd never been that close with anyone in her life. He seemed to keep a distance from her, letting her get used to her new place before he attempted to find her place in his team. In the end it really was his team over all else, and she was just waiting to see if he'd accept her in. Truly Carter was a worthy One, and deserving of the Commander rank.


	13. Remember

Remember

Shar leaned back in the falcon. Seemed they'd ridden in a lot of falcons in the past days. She glanced across from her at Kat and Jorge. How had she ended up on the same falcon as both of the people she'd worked with in the past? She was hesitant to be around them. She didn't want to have Jorge recognize her, or question about what she'd told him the last time they'd met. She didn't want Kat to ask her questions either. Knowing the knowledge-hungry Beta Spartan, she would ask Shar all sort of questions that she couldn't answer. Either way would end badly.

"You know Six, I wasn't sure at the start, but you've proven to be a good teammate." Shar turned to Jorge as she spoke. He really didn't remember her at all. She should have been relieved, but she wasn't. Something in it actually hurt. When he'd last worked with her she'd had the same black and cobalt ODST armor, even had the robotic arm. Still he didn't have a clue who she was.

"I agree. I'm glad to have you on the team, Six." Kat leaned forward as she spoke. There was the feeling that there was a bond between them because they were both Beta Company but the bond actually made Shar feel uneasy. She hadn't felt like a member of Beta in a long time. Shar could almost feel the Lieutenant Commander trying to recognize her but failing. For some reason this seemed to hurt as well, but less than with Jorge. It had been so long since Shar had seen her she wasn't surprised that Kat hadn't recognized her. Shar knew the only reason Kat was trying to recognize her was they were both from Beta so the chances were they knew each other.

A heavy weight settled in Shar's stomach. She remembered both of them but neither of the other Spartans remembered her. Was she really that easy to forget? She knew Kat had seen her file, saw her record but still she wasn't recognized. She only met Jorge once and his armor had changed since she'd seen him. She recognized him right away but he didn't recognize who she was at all.

Had her life been covered in so much black ink that it was seeping into people's minds, blacking her out from memories? Was she the only person that remembered those times? The only one who knew who she was?

"Hey, Six, you all right?" Jorge eyed her curiously. His concern seemed genuine, but it always did. She remembered how nice and gentle he had seemed back when she'd first met him. He hadn't changed.

"I'm fine." Shar had always been a pretty good liar and she would have to hope she still had that skill. Jorge leaned back seeming to have accepted her answer.

Kat was a different story. She didn't seem as convinced. "Are you sure you're all right?" Shar could almost feel Kat bringing up her medical status as the Lieutenant Commander spoke.

"I said I'm fine." Shar knew Kat wouldn't find anything. There was nothing physically wrong with her. There were no medical signs to show that you'd just realized that you were an imaginary friend among ghosts.

"You better be. Noble's being redeployed. We should be to our target soon." Shar glanced over at Carter as he spoke. He didn't sound like he believed her claim either. He wouldn't question it though, seeming to understand that she could get past it.

Shar turned her attention back to the soldiers in the falcon with her. "Anyway, it's good to work with you two again." Shar could feel the confusion in the air. Kat and Jorge exchanged glances and then looked back at Shar. She turned away from them, staring out the open side of the falcon.


	14. No turning back

No turning back.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Mendez's features didn't give away his emotions. "You just pulled her off of the team. Do you think she'll be able to complete the mission?"

"That's particularly why we are doing this. It will prove if we've made the right choice for her." Kurt stared out the window at the forest around them. His voice held more conviction then he really felt. Really, he still wasn't sure about his choice.

"Either that or we'll be removing any chance of her ever rejoining November." Mendez moved over to a holotank. "Are all of the trainees ready?"

The holotank flickered to life. Snow swept across it and the figure of an old man with a snow cape appeared. "They are all in place, Senior Chief Petty Officer."

Mendez turned to Kurt, waiting silently. The Lieutenant Commander didn't do anything right away. This was a big thing to be doing. He had to be sure it was right. He knew from experience that B312 was determined and cold, sometimes too cold. An exercise like this could have unforeseen consequences. Kurt had to have faith that she would come through this all right. "Start it." Mendez nodded to Deep Winter and the AI vanished.

Shar moved slowly forward. Her SPI armor gave her some camouflage but if she moved too much it would fail. Something felt off about this mission. She had been told so little information. Maybe it was because November wasn't with her. That was another odd thing. A couple days ago she had been informed that she would no longer be working with her team. It hadn't been an emotional event for her, though her team had been upset they were losing a teammate. It struck an oddly lonely tone in her that they weren't upset she'd be gone, only that they'd be a man down in general.

It suited Shar just fine. She didn't have to okay her plan with anyone, just could do it. This mission would be her first time officially working on her own, and it felt great. She'd been given a task and no limitations how to do it. Get into the bunker and non-lethally neutralize the targets. She'd been given a pistol with stun rounds and a knife. She really didn't think she'd use either. A knife was hard to use without it being lethal, and a pistol would just be pointless in such a small area.

Shar reached the side of the bunker, wishing that she had different armor. The camouflage unit only lasted for a while before the shimmer created by movement became worse. She would just turn it off but the green color and dome reflective visor would just give her away. She had to move extremely carefully as she crept toward the only entrance. It was good she was moving slowly, as it gave her the time to notice three thing wires strung up, connected to flash bang grenades. Traps. So the soldiers inside were waiting for her.

Shar took a moment to think over what to do. Slowly and carefully Shar removed the flash bangs from the trap. She could use them to properly kick things off. Shar stood statue still beside the entrance. She armed the flash bangs and tossed them in through the doorway. The wall behind her shook and her ears rang from the sound. The point, though, was that she could still see, but they wouldn't.

Shar didn't waste a second of her time. She moved into the building and took in the situation. There were three SPI armored figures in the room, all confused and dazed. Before they could regain their senses, or even realize she was there, Shar moved toward the closest enemy. She struck the figure twice in the chest before slamming her fist into the foe's helmet. The figure stumbled back and Shar spotted an opening. Her foot struck out, kicking the figure in the side. The soldier crumpled to the ground.

By this time the other two had recovered from the grenades and set their sights on Shar. They attacked as one, though there was a variation in their rhythms. She dodged a hit and blocked a kick. The first's left punch was slow, and the second's stance was all wrong. It was so familiar but she couldn't place where she knew it from. That was when it hit her. These were things she'd often seen from her former teammates. This wasn't some group of random instructors; it was her team, November.

Shar shifted her strategy. This was November, she'd trained with them, knew their strengths, and their weaknesses. She had no qualm about using that information against them. After all, they were her enemies now. One of them moved forward, and from the way she lead with her right Shar knew it was Elizabeth. Shar blocked a few hits before she ducked and moved around the other female trainee. She punched Elizabeth twice in the side. She knew that Elizabeth had been injured there not long ago during an exercise. Elizabeth fell to one knee and Shar's elbow slammed into the back of her head. The SPI helmet slammed into the ground and the visor cracked a bit.

The last soldier moved toward her and from the way his punches and kicks were out of form she knew it was Brad. This would be easy. Her foot struck his left knee and it gave out. It had always been a weak point, and she'd always exploited it in their sparring matches. Her fist slammed into his helmet and he was stunned. There was really only one threat from Brad, and Shar would take care of it. She set her foot on his shoulder and pushed Brad down to he was lying on the ground. She grabbed his right arm and pulled it up so that it was sort of twisted behind him. Despite his lack of form, Brad had a powerful right hook that could even knock her flat on her back. Shar struck at Brad's elbow and she heard the rewarding crack. He screamed in pain as she broke the bone.

Shar let the arm drop. She turned her attention to the first person she'd attacked, Tony, just in time to see him running toward her. She hit him once in the stomach and then grabbed the front of his armor, spinning and launching Tony. Elizabeth had just been getting back up when Tony collided with her. The two fell to the ground in a heap.

Shar stood over the fallen trainees. Something was wrong. Not with the situation, but in her. She lifted up her hands and found that they were shaking, though she didn't understand why. She hadn't been hit, hadn't been injured, so why did she feel so bad? She turned her attention back to her fallen team. Something cold settled in her stomach as she truly took in what had happened. She had attacked what used to be her team. She could hear Brad groaning as he struggled on the ground, but he was too injured to do much of anything.

She pushed aside her emotions, buried them deep in her. She felt her body calm down and her hands stopped shaking. She grabbed their weapons which had all fallen to the floor at some point. It was a bit odd that she hadn't noticed them when things had first started, but they wouldn't have mattered. The flash bangs probably caused them to drop them so they didn't even have them when she struck. She collected them up and moved out of the bunker. As she moved through the forest she hid them in various spots, being sure that she had ways of knowing where they were. For all she knew they would come in handy some other time.

Shar stood in the Lieutenant Commander's office. She didn't know why she was here. She'd completed her mission just as she had been ordered. She felt awkward in this room. It was the first time she'd ever been in this office. She stood statue still before Kurt who was looking over her mission report.

Shar was starting to become nervous. Was she in trouble? Was she in trouble for having broken Brad's arm? The fact that Kurt still hadn't said anything and it was getting her worried. Finally Kurt looked up from the report and at Shar. "At ease." Shar relaxed just a little.

Kurt set the file to the side and didn't speak right away. Shar was wondering how long he was going to keep her in suspense when he spoke again. "You recognized the soldiers you were placed against? You even named them and gave their numbers in your report."

"That is correct, sir." Shar wasn't sure if that was what this was all about. Should she not have named them? "I recognized their fighting styles and flaws. They were easy to identify."

Kurt nodded at this information, but something seemed off about it. He didn't seem as pleased with it as he was trying to make it seem like his was. "And you showed no hesitation in attacking them, or restraint."

Shar frowned at his words. "Should I have, sir? They were my enemies. We are not to show enemies any weakness."

Kurt nodded, and turned away from her. There seemed to be something in his posture, which she'd seen in his face that made it seem he almost regretted what she was saying. "From now on you will be working on your own. Sometimes you will be placed in missions against instructors, sometimes against other fire teams. Do you have any issue with this?"

"No sir." Shar really didn't. She'd never been that close to any of the other trainees, besides maybe the girls out of the fact they were all female. She'd only really been close to November because it was necessary.

Kurt's head nodded. "Very well then, trainee. You are dismissed."

Shar left the office, feeling odd. It wasn't until she had reached the barracks. There was an odd feeling in the air when the others would look at her. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had recognized the other participants in the exercise. November had realized who she was, and they'd spread word of what she'd done in the exercise. Shar didn't understand it really. They all seemed so mad that she'd done what she'd been ordered to do, or maybe it was just because they used to be her team.

When she reached her bunk she found the bedding gone, her foot locker unlocked and some of her things on the floor. Someone had written 'traitor' on it and she stared at it for a few seconds before she did anything. Finally she left the barracks. She climbed onto the roof of the building and lay down to sleep. It wasn't particularly comfortable, but it was better than sleeping in the barracks that night. She stared up at the sky, watching the stars shine in the sky. It was obvious to her that she had already become something different to her fellow trainees, and that things weren't going to get better. She would be fighting them from then on, and each time they lost she knew they would hate her more and more.

Shar took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. No matter what she did in the future, there was no turning back now. She was a lone wolf.


	15. Horse

Horse

Shar stood in the wide open room, not exactly sure what to do. She'd been ordered to report here, but there had been no actual information as to what she was going to be doing. She just stood on the platform looking out at the large metal rooms, examining the lines that seemed to be everywhere.

"Are you here for the testing?" Shar turned at the voice and was surprised to find what was obviously a Spartan II. The voice rang in her ears and she realized that she recognized it. This was the same Spartan who so many years ago had convinced her teammates to take Shar with them, who had carried her to the escape shuttles. Why was she meeting these Spartans now, when she couldn't show them what had become of her, couldn't show them that every life they saved might be a future Spartan.

What was more surprising to Shar was exactly how much she and the woman looked alike. They both had brown hair, though Shar's was cut a bit shorter, and blue eyes. Shar was extremely aware of a few differences, though. The Spartan II wore olive green Mark IV armor, so different from Shar's ODST armor. There was also the matter of height. This woman was taller than Shar, though for all she knew it might have just been the armor. It was also painfully obvious that this woman was much more beautiful than Shar. She lacked the many scars that already marred Shar's face, having few in comparison, and she had a sort of angular beauty to her. It suddenly made the Spartan III feel very awkward beside her.

"Yeah, but I don't know what we're waiting for." Shar's gaze turned toward the ground as the other woman moved up to stand right beside her. She heard a light chuckle and Shar frowned at the woman. "What?"

The other woman shrugged. "It's just, you and I look like we could be related." The woman shrugged. "Just found it amusing is all. I'm Kelly, by the way. Petty Officer second class, Kelly zero-eight-seven."

Shar nodded. "Nice to meet you, Kelly. I am Master Chief Petty Officer Shar three-one-two." Shar shifted the helmet in her hands. "Were you given any information on today's testing?"

Kelly shook her head. "Nope, not a word, Chief." Shar frowned at the word 'chief'. She had only recently been promoted so it was still odd to her to be called Master Chief by some people. "I only know one other Spartan who has that rank, so you must be the second class's equivalent of him."

Shar remembered the lead Spartan had been there the day she'd been saved. She remembered working with him against a group of rebels. "John, correct?" She didn't need to guess, she knew his name. "He and I have worked together in the past."

Kelly pursed her lips and then nodded. "Right, I remember him mentioning you. You're the same Spartan II that attacked a rebel base with him." Shar nodded her head. "Well if you are as good as he told me you are, I think we might have a nice challenge today, whatever we are doing."

Shar nodded but hesitated for a moment. "So…how is John?" She knew she shouldn't be asking, but she was curious. She'd like the male Spartan, and they had gotten along really well. It hadn't hurt that he wasn't too bad looking, and had showed her respect. Though if he worked with women like Kelly she was sure he was one of those soldiers who was aware of how strong a woman could be. Not like the soldier who seemed unhappy with being placed under the command of a woman, like she was inferior or something.

"He's doing fine. It will be good to report back to him that the second class is surviving well." Shar felt guilty at Kelly's words. These Spartans really believed that there had been a second class of Spartan IIs. They had no idea that orphaned children from the war had been used to create less trained Spartans who were basically expected to die in combat, only winning due to the fact they had such higher numbers. Shar didn't reply to the comment. She just turned her gaze back out into the wide open room, waiting for the testing to start. "So how did you get the arm?"

Shar shifted so she could look at her right arm. "A combat incident. Classified."

Kelly shifted, trying to find something else to talk about. "So what mission were you on before this?"

"That's classified." Shar could see the visual displeasure on Kelly's face. "I'm just going to save you some time. I've told you all that I can tell you. Everything else is classified."

Kelly shrugged and was about to say something when an odd looking metallic ball with glowing blue eye floated up. Both of the Spartans took a step back but the object didn't make a move to attack. "You must be my test subjects for today." The metallic voice of the floating machine seemed very pleased. "Greetings, I am known as the monitor, and welcome to The Forge."

"Forge, what is Forge?" Shar looked around, not really seeing anything.

"Oh, I am sorry, I haven't booted up the systems yet." There was a pause and the walls of the room glowed. The outlines of metal appeared below them and then rocks. The metallic walls faded and the outlines of water and land stretched out for what seemed like forever. "Welcome to what we call Forge World."

Shar looked around at the expansive land. "This is…it's giant." Kelly smiled beside her, clearly in awe of the space. "So what is it used for?"

"For creating whatever we need, mainly for testing things. Today, you will be testing it out." The monitor hovered up and down. "Today you will be competing against each other in a game of horse."

The two women looked at each other. "What is horse?" Kelly asked.

"Horse is a simple game. You play through rounds, and whoever completes a task first wins. The person who loses will get a letter until one of you spells horse."

"Seems simple enough." Shar slipped her helmet on and out of the corner of her eye she could see Kelly do the same. "So what kind of rounds will we be playing?"

"That was determined by the creators of this facility. They all spent some time programming and have come up with challenges that they think will help to push the limits of this facility and test you." The monitor turned and moved a bit away. "A few important things you must know. You cannot die here. If you die, in a few seconds you will be respawned, though we have taken precautions in most of these that you will be able to just be teleported back to the start rather than having to respawn."

"No dying? So then we don't have to worry about injury?" Shar smiled behind her visor. "I like the idea of that."

"Well, your vehicles can be damaged, which can have an effect. Remember, damaged too much, and they will burst into a ball of fire." The Monitor paused. "I think I have chosen a great map for you to start out on. It should get you used to the system, and be a good warm up round."

Shar looked to Kelly. "I'm ready to go if you are."

Kelly set her hands on her hips. "I am. You better be ready to be a horse."

Shar smirked. "We'll see who's a horse." She turned to monitor. "Go ahead and start us up."

The Monitor nodded and then Shar was surrounded in gold light. It faded and she looked around. They were once more in a room, this time on platforms standing before a series of tunnels. Shar looked over her shoulder at the fusion coils that were behind them.

"This is a rather simple game. Simply take the grenade launcher, fire toward the top of the area over there," the monitor turned toward the top part of the series of tunnels. "Use the manual release and simply try to get the grenade to fall down the proper path. When it reaches the bottom simply detonate the grenade and you will see the fusion coils behind you explode.

Shar grabbed the grenade launcher. She aimed and fired. The grenade bounced around a bit but went down the wrong path. She sighed and detonated the explosive. "Might be a bit harder than I thought."

"Should we take turns?" Shar could barely hear Kelly from the other side of the wall between them. A grenade went flying through the air but Shar didn't see it bounce down below.

"I don't think it went down." Shar fired again and the looked for her own grenade. She didn't spot it so she detonated it, seeing the explosion at the top of the funnel.

Kelly detonated her own and then fired a second time. This time it went down what seemed to be the right way. "How do I follow it? It's down too low."

The Monitor hovered over toward her. "Simply use the teleporter and you can view the bottom."

There was a moment's pause. "Oh." The word came from a bit lower down then Shar. The Spartan III turned as the fusion coils behind her exploded. Kelly moved out from around the wall and moved so her grenade launcher was resting against her shoulder. "Looks like I win round one."

"Guess that gives me a h." Shar turned toward the monitor. "So then, what's the next challenge that one of your spooks came up with for us?"

There was a golden light and Shar found herself standing on a cliff beside a pair of ghosts. This might just be fun. "Simple objective, ride the ghost across the rail." The Spartans turned to the monitor as he moved. It brought their attention to a simple rail that was spread over a long drop.

"That does not look safe." Kelly moved over to the edge, looking down.

"They said we couldn't die." Shar moved over to ghosts and got in one. "Since you won last time I get to do it first this time." Kelly motioned for her to go ahead and Shar lined up her ghost. This didn't look like all that hard of a task. She moved forward but only got a few lengths before her ghost tipped and fell over the edge. Rather than the long drop she was expecting she found herself once more where they had started.

Kelly moved over to her own ghost. "Well that little aspect is going to be a good timesaver." She moved her ghost into position and moved forward. She got about as far as Shar had before she tipped as well and was teleported back. "That is much harder than it looks."

Shar grinned beside her. "I know that it is. Might take us longer then the first one." It took them almost an hour before one of them managed to finish the course. Shar landed on the other side, her ghost a bit damaged from grinding against the rail. She jumped off of her ghost and raised her fists into the air in triumph.

"Excellent." The monitor was very pleased. He moved over to Shar and hovered. "You have won the second round, so it is all tied up. Let us move on so that we may learn more."

There was golden light and Shar found herself standing beside a few more ghost and before a half-pipe. The odd thing was that there were bits and pieces of banshees and ghost falling down all over the area. "Now this one looks difficult."

"The task is simple. Get in a ghost, drive through the debris, and then jump off the end to the circle below." The monitor floated off to watch from above.

"Well he's a great help for all of these." There was amusement in Kelly's voice. "Well since you won, I get to go first." Kelly moved over to a ghost and started to drive, trying to move about the wreckage. Her shields flared, ghost sparked and a large piece hit her. Shar watched as the female Spartan fell from the vehicle. Her first instinct was to just run in and help the other woman but she stopped. There was no way she would make it through the debris in time.

"Wow, that is interesting." Shar looked to her side and saw Kelly standing beside her. "A bit odd to see my own body." There was a bit of odd tone to her voice.

"Well I guess that he wasn't lying." Shar moved over to her own ghost. "Well, I don't see why you should have to wait. Just start right after I go and that way we can get in more tries in less time." The ghost came to life and Shar moved off, leaving Kelly to grab a new ghost and move after her.

It was not an easy task at all. Every time they seemed to get close to the end, it seemed like a bit piece of banshee would fall and take them out, sending them back to the start. It didn't frustrate them, though. Rather Shar found herself enjoying the challenge, and the fight to get to the end. In the end they both found openings and gunned it. It was only a second difference between them hitting the island below.

Shar stood, triumphant, beside her broken ghost. "That makes you a ho."

Kelly made a slightly mocking bow. "I relent to you and your greatness. Though I do have an issue with being a ho."

"If you are all done, we will move on to the next challenge. There was golden light again and this time Kelly and Shar stood on their own platforms. "This is a simple task. Take the sniper rifle, throw the plasma grenade, go through the teleporter, and then snipe the grenade out of the air."

Shar looked up toward the blue sky above. "Easy he says, when these little glowing things are almost the exactly same color as the sky." She grabbed the sniper rifle and a pair of plasma grenades.

"Sorry, Chief, but you are at a disadvantage. One of my best friends is a sniper and taught me a thing or two." Kelly moved into position as well.

Shar looked up through the hole she would have to throw the grenade through. She frowned, realizing that she didn't really know any snipers. Really, she wasn't friends with anyone. She prepared, and as one the two women tossed their grenades then stepped through their individual teleporters.

Shar searched the sky, not seeing any sign of her grenade. She heard a shot to her side as Kelly tried to catch her grenade. Shar moved back up to the top through the teleporter and Kelly did the same. They tried two more times before finally there was a cry of triumph nearby. Shar lowered her rifle and nodded to Kelly.

They were once more transported and found themselves on a platform high above a series of floating blocks. "That was nicely done." Shar moved over to the edge along with Kelly.

"Thanks, my friend Linda gave me a few tips for being a better shot. You don't have any friends that are snipers?" Kelly looked over toward the other woman.

Shar shook her head. "Don't have any friends." Kelly stared at her and Shar sighed. "I don't stay in one place very long, and I usually work alone. Doesn't really make it easy to make friends."

Kelly shrugged, but didn't press it any further. They both turned as the monitor appeared. "This is a rather simple task. Just jump down the boxes to the bottom, put on the jetpack, and then make your way back up."

"You know, he's starting to annoy me a bit." Kelly glared at the monitor. "These are not simple task. They are hard in actual physical action."

"No point in arguing with a floating ball." Shar moved to the edge and jumped. She picked her way through the boxes until the came to the bottom. It took several times of them making it all the way to the bottom, and detonating the mines before they finally both retrieved their jetpacks. It was slow going to get back up, but in the end, Shar just barely beat Kelly.

The two women stood on the platform, Kelly saluting. "Well done, Master Chief." She shifted a bit. "That feels odd, because I sometimes call John by his rank."

Shar looked away a bit. "Well...you can just call me Shar if that would be better. I don't mind." Really she sort of did. Using her name would likely make a bond, and she hated to admit it, but she sort of feared having a bond.

The two were teleported once more and this time they were in an open field. There was a mancannon ahead of them, and one behind them as well. "The game is now hor to ho." The monitor bobbled happily. This one is a simple idea, and a bit fun. Just toss a plasma grenade at the gravity canon over there, and then walk backward into the second. The object is to stick yourself with your own grenade."

The two women looked at each other. "I hate to admit it, but I think he's right. That sounds like it will be fun." Kelly moved into the right position and prepared. She tossed the grenade and then moved backward, being shot through the air. Shar watched as she just barely missed the grenade hitting sticking to her. Shar grinned as she watched Kelly plummet toward the water.

Shar didn't waste another moment. She tossed her own grenade and then moved backward, watching it sail over her head and she fell toward the water. She hit the water below and everything became blue before it went dark. She then found herself once more standing up on the field, facing the cannon. Kelly was already in position and throwing her grenade. This time she didn't sit around to watch Kelly fall toward the water. She moved into position and started to throw her grenade.

It took almost a half hour for Shar to finally stick a grenade to her head. It had glued itself to the spot just above her visor, filling her vision with glorious blue light, detonating before she hit the water. She was respawned up on the field again beside Kelly.

"So what was it like?" Kelly seemed a bit eager to know.

Kelly smirked a bit. "It was blue." Kelly tilted her head to the side and Shar realized she didn't understand. "I like the color blue. It didn't hurt, so it was great. Not to mention, it means you get another letter. Just one more and then I win." Shar set her hands on her hip. "Better get to work, Petty Officer, or you'll be going back to John a looser to me."

Kelly's fist hit Shar's arm and the Spartan III looked at her confused. "Don't call me by my rank. I like when you use my name. Also, what makes you think I'm going to tell John if I lose?"

Shar chuckled slightly. "Smart girl, diffidently a smart one." She turned to look at the monitor. "Bring on the next round."

There was the golden light again and they found themselves in a large hanger filled with scorpion tanks and a single mancaonnon.

"Well this one looks like it is going to be interesting." Kelly looked out into the open area. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Get in a tank, launch with the cannon, land on the platform alive." The monitor seemed to have a very excited tone.

Shar frowned a bit. "Sounds like it's something that relies a lot on luck." She preferred winning with skill.

"Well then I get to go first. If you're really like John then you're going to win this just because of luck." Kelly moved over toward the tank.

"Actually, I've never been that lucky," Shar admitted, watching the other woman. Kelly must not have heard her as she slipped into the tank and moved forward. Shar moved to watch and the tank hit the cannon. The force sent it tumbling through the air. Shar burst out into laughter as she watched the large vehicle spin comically in the air.

Kelly respawned, staring at the still laughing Spartan. "And what exactly is so funny?"

Shar sucked in air enough to talk. "The way a tank looks…ha…flying through the air." She tried to calm herself down shaking her head. She couldn't believe that she'd lost her composure like that. She never laughed like that and she felt a bit embarrassed.

"Well then get your ass in a tank and in that cannon. If it's so funny I have got to see this." Kelly pushed Shar a bit to get her moving, moving so she could get the best view.

Shar ran over to one of the tanks and slid into the driver's seat. The tank roared toward the cannon, and the next thing Shar knew the sky and sea kept changing places as she spun through the air. The hit the side of the platform and the tank exploded into fire. It took a second before Shar was respawned back to the hanger. Kelly was laughing hysterically.

"What did I tell you?" Shar waved toward the tank. "It's your turn." She moved back to allow Kelly to move on.

It was hard to focus on their actual task. The sight and fun of just flinging the tanks kept them fully entertained and when Shar finally landed on the pad she was actually disappointed. She ended up jumping into the water and respawing back up top.

"I didn't blow up." Shar pouted and crossed her arms. "I'm starting to like the blowing up part."

"You didn't blow up, so I'm officially a horse." Kelly shook her head. "Don't get too attached to it. It will kill you outside of this place."

Shar nodded. "I know, but it's fun in here." She paused for a moment. "Wait, I won?" Kelly nodded. "Ha, you're a horse." She pointed and grinned at Kelly.

"I'm just sad that we can't do this anymore. I like launching those tanks." Kelly reached up, removing her helmet. Shar did the same. "You know, I've really enjoyed this."

Shar nodded. "I did as well. I had a lot of fun. It's been so long since I've had real fun." She frowned a bit. That was a bit of a dark realization.

"Well, there are some bright points." Shar looked up at Kelly, waiting for the older woman to explain. "Not only can you say you are a master of horse, but you are also as lucky as John, not to mention, now you can say you have a friend." Shar was surprised. "If you're ever in a position to be able to send me letters, do so. I'd love to hear from you. I will understand that you can't always tell me everything. I can't always tell you everything." Kelly smirked a bit. "I'll even give you updates on how John is doing."

Shar started to smile. It had been a while since she'd felt like this. Someone wanted to be her friend, was accepting her. "I will do that. I'm glad you want to be my friend, and I'd love to hear how John is doing."

The two looked up as the monitor appeared. "Thank you both, you have been such a help. We have learned so much, and so much science was done. I'm so pleased." The world around them started to fade. The tanks vanished and slowly the wide world around them lost color, becoming only an outline, before it too vanished, leaving only the empty room from before. "That is all that you were needed for. You may return to your stations to receive further orders."

The monitor floated off and Shar felt regret. It wasn't just that the forge world was gone, but she was going to be leaving Kelly. She'd been enjoying herself and the idea of just walking away from that was not appealing.

"Well, I hope to see you again." Kelly held out her hand. Shar hesitated for a moment before she reached out, taking the other woman's hand and shaking it. "I wish you luck in the future, Shar. I hope we can both see the end of this war."

Shar nodded. "It would be nice to know something other than just fighting." She paused for a moment and then shook her head. "No, that's a lie. I like the fighting. Have since I was a kid." The memory of the grunt lying dead on the ground, then Kelly praising her for the action.

Kelly smirked a bit. "You want to know something? So do I? I don't know what we'll do without it." She looked toward the ground. "Though I have a few things I wish I could do." A slight smile spread over Kelly's face.

Shar felt a bit empty. She didn't have anything she'd like to do other than fight. She didn't really see any other option for her. There was only fighting.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Shar." Kelly released Shar's hand and moved to walk out of the room.

Shar waited until she was out of the doorway before she spoke. "It was nice to see you again, Kelly." She closed her eyes. She was happy, she'd made friends with the woman who had inspired her to become a Spartan, but she felt a sorrow knowing that she could never tell Kelly how she had touched Shar's life. She could never show her that what she'd done mattered, that it had given her purpose in life, a drive that lead her to be who she was. Shar took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before she started to move toward the door. Even if she never could tell Kelly the truth, keeping it forever in the darkness of the black ink and bright red word 'classified' that seemed to coat her life, she could still make a difference. Maybe, just maybe, something that Shar did would help Kelly in the future, allow her to help save the woman who had saved her.

For now, she'd have to see what her next mission was. Maybe after it she'd be able to write to Kelly. Shar smiled. She had something to look forward to after a mission.

Note: If you want to see the actual games I suggest going onto youtube and look up the videos. The first one is Horse 19, the third round. The second round they played was the first round of Horse 19. The third round was Horse 15, round 5. The fourth round is Horse 28, round 3. Round five is Horse 17, round 5. Round six is Horse 17, round 6. The final round is Horse 19, round 7.


	16. Letters

Letters

Dear Shar,

I hope that you are doing well. Survived the last engagement that I was sent to. Did manage to break a few bones though. That's what I get for jumping out of a falcon to try to save a teammate. You probably haven't met him yet, his name's Fred. I think he'd like you, though he likes most people. I told them all about the game that we played. John was glad to know that you were still alive. Will called being the next person to play you in a game. I don't think John understood the game. He didn't understand why I was a horse. It was sort of cute, really. I hope to hear back from you soon.

Your friend,  
Kelly

_Dear Kelly, _

_I'm glad to hear that you survived. I've jumped from a few falcons, and pelicans, myself. It never ends well. I try not to do it often. I'm sorry that I can't tell you anything about the last mission I was on. Black ink and all of that. ONI doesn't want me to say anything. Well I'd like to meet this Fred guy, but I do not believe that I'm going to be anywhere near your team or have free time to play games for a while. Tell Will that the first chance I get, I'll play him in horse, and that I will thoroughly make him a horse. I'll make your entire team horses. Never really thought of anything John doing as being cute, though I wouldn't rule out the possibility of it. Oh, I do have one bit of news that I can tell you, I got promoted. _

_Lieutenant-312_

Dear Shar,

I don't plan on jumping out of a falcon again. I'm just glad I survived this time. Plenty of things that John does are cute, at least to me. Guess you are getting busy, we are as well. It seems like every time we finish one fight there's another to go to. I've already seen three planets glassed, one of them we were still on but at the last minute they pulled us off of it. I'm starting to really worry that we are losing the war, and we can't win it. I keep trying to get John to talk to me about it, but he doesn't believe that we can lose. I always admired that about him, his drive to win back in training really got us through a lot, but right now it is just annoying me. We're running out of planets to run to.

Sincerely, your friend,  
Kelly-087

P.S. Congratulations on the promotion. Though I'm sad I can't call you Master Chief, or even Chief, any more.

_Dear Kelly, _

_I know how you feel. I haven't actually seen a planet being glassed; we always seem to leave before I can see it. I'm a bit worried about actually seeing it. It does seem like we are running out of planets. Each time we can win on the ground, but our ships are being destroyed in the air. I'm starting to lose hope, though I think you should listen to John. It isn't so much we could lose, but that we can't afford to lose. It is either victory or death, those are our only options. The fate of humanity is at stake, so there is no choice but to keep fighting. Try to look at it the way John does. You are going to win; there is no other outcome that can be accepted. Though, if you still find him annoying tell him to shoot me a message. Don't want some other woman getting to him first._

_From,  
Shar_

Dear Shar,

Thank you, I really think that helped me. I feel better, and John's attitude isn't annoying me as much. Honestly, loosing is not something that we Spartans are used to. John always made sure that we won back in training, and the fact that we are losing now…I guess it shook me. I bet you didn't lose much when you were a trainee. Sure Chief Mendez tossed worse stuff at you then he did at us. There is something still bothering me. We can win, we as soldiers, but how can we win the war if the Covenant is still better than us in space? That is where my hope still fails me.

Gratefully your friend,  
Kelly

P.S. Back off, sister. John is mine, and I'm not going anywhere.

_Dear Kelly, _

_I didn't lose. Ever. Though I did come close to losing once. It was an exercise against another team of trainees, and they let the best strategist of our class take the lead. They almost beat me, but I guess I got lucky. The Chief did toss some really hard things at us, toughened us up for what we were going to fight. It helped that we knew we were going against the Covenant. I'm sorry that I don't have an answer to your fear. I don't know how we can win in the skies; I've only really paid attention to the ground fighting. We need frigates commanded by soldiers like Keys, then maybe we would stand a chance, but, without those kinds of leaders, I don't think there is any way that we can win in space. _

_Your friend,  
Shar_

Dear Shar,

You're right; we do need more proper leaders like Keys. His outside the box thinking might just give us a chance against the Covenant. Problem is he only has one daughter, and although from her actions she seems to have his courage, I don't know if she has the same strategic mind. Either way she's only one person, and we need a Captain like that on every ship. I do know that if we can get on a Covenant ship, we can take it down. I learned that at a very high price, but it can be done. I'm sure if someone like you tried it they wouldn't have much trouble.

Faithfully your friend,  
Kelly

P.S. I saw an ODST the other day with blue highlights on their armor like you. I was very sad to see that their right arm was flesh.

_Dear Kelly, _

_That's still one more Keys then we would have without her. I've never been on a Covenant vessel. I might have to try that. I've thought about what they look like on the inside, what they would look like being destroyed. I've wondered if they look as beautiful on the inside as they do on the outside. I'll have to find a way to get on one. I wish I could tell you about the last mission I was on. I want to say more but my lips are sealed. I can tell you, we're still working on ways to make it easier to kick Covie butt on the ground. _

_Your friend,  
Shar_

Shar sat at the terminal, staring at the screen. It had been a long time, too long in fact. She hadn't received a message from Kelly in a month, and she was starting to get worried. She checked the official roster of Spartans and found that Kelly was still marked as active and alive, not that it was ever reported when a Spartan died. At least they got a MIA after their name. When she died she would simply vanish from all records, having never existed.

Though if Kelly had died in combat, she would have been marked as missing, but she wasn't. So then why had Kelly not written back to her? Maybe Kelly didn't want to write to her any more. Shar wouldn't have been surprised. People didn't seem to stay in her life for very long, and how much contact she'd had with Kelly was more then she had with most. She'd really started to think that Kelly was her friend; that she wanted to know Shar, but the sudden cold shoulder hurt her. She turned off the terminal and moved back to her cot, lying down. She lay on the blanket just staring at the wall, thinking of all the reasons Kelly wouldn't write to her any more.

Kelly frowned as she checked her messages again. "What are you doing?" Kelly looked up and smiled a bit as she spotted John. "You do know it will tell you when you have a message?"

Kelly frowned at him. "I know that, I'm just expecting a message from Shar but she hasn't written back. I sent her a message weeks ago." Kelly turned her gaze back to the screen and John sat down beside her. They were silent for a few seconds before Kelly spoke again. "Do you think something happened to her?"

"She's a strong soldier. Maybe she just doesn't have the time to write. She said she was getting busier. Have you checked the list of active Spartans?" John put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"I did, she's not on the list. She's not even on the list of missing Spartans. I can't find a record of her anywhere. I know that she said she did a lot of secret stuff, but that's a bit overboard." Kelly leaned a bit toward him. "I just don't know of any other reason that she wouldn't write back to me. She seemed to be my friend."

John moved his hand so that it was around her shoulder. "I'm sure that everything will be fine. You told me that she doesn't lose, so there's no way the Covenant got the better of her."

Kelly closed her eyes. "I hope you're right."


	17. Sabre

Sabre

Shar sat in the simulator as it shut down. The information from her test ran over the screen, all green telling her that she did well. She just sat, waiting for the door to be opened so she could get out. It was hard to go back to the simulators after she'd made her first flight. It hadn't been an easy flight, and the reentry had been harder than they had suspected and the ships were again being improved, so she was back in a simulator. After the real thing, the simulator paled in comparison.

The door finally open and a Corporal grinned at her. "Great run, ma'am. Don't think that any of the other soldiers will ever catch up to you?" Shar didn't reply to that. She didn't care how the others did.

"Out of the simulator, science project." Shar turned to face the agitated Lance Corporal. That was a new nickname, if Shar called them nicknames. They were more of insults that the other soldiers sometimes used against her. She just ignored them.

Shar got out of the simulator and the other pilot moved into it. The door shut and the Corporal at the controls watched Shar as she moved out of the room. "He's just jealous." Shar stopped, looking back at the man. "He used to be the best until you came to the program."

Shar frowned. "That's none of my concern." She turned and moved out. She didn't care how the soldiers here felt. She only needed to be a pilot, and that was what she was doing. Shar moved through the facility until she reached the barracks. Shar moved into the room, toward her cot. She sat down, pulling out her combat knife and sharpening it. It had been dulled a bit after she'd been force to use it to cut a few soldiers out of parachute harnesses during an exercise a few days ago. She'd heard something about a new re-entry pack that wes supposed to be used in the Sabres for re-entry. Shar wondered if she'd be cutting soldiers out of those any time soon.

"Looks like the cyborg's done for the day." Shar scowled at the insult. It was a favorite of some of the people that picked on her. It seemed to have stemmed from her robotic arm and the belief of the soldiers that she was actually a robot.

Shar heard the soldiers move and she continued with her sharpening. "You ever notice that you don't see it in the mess hall?"

A second voice laughed. "That's because robots don't need food. Don't forget, Henson, it likes to be referred to as a she."

The first man chuckled. "There's no way it's a girl. Girls can't fly that good."

Shar just ignored them, finishing sharpening her knife before she put it away. She sat, unsure of what to do. She didn't have any more training for the day, and she'd already explored everywhere. Shar reached over under her pillow and pulled out a datapad. She started to search the database for anything new she could read. Maybe the latest battle reports.

"Why you using that to look up information. Bet there's a port somewhere in that armor that would let you hook up straight into the computers." The first voice was trying to goad a reaction out of her but she didn't pay attention.

"Hey, did you turn your ears off or something." The second man's fist tapped against Shar's helmet. "Can you hear me you wannabe ODST."

That was all that Shar could take. She turned like a flash, her hand grabbing his wrist, the force crushing the bones with ease. She pushed off from the ground and they went tumbling down to the cot beside Shar's. She twisted his arm as she moved her forearm so it was against his throat. The man was now screaming in pain but she couldn't hear it. Her ears were deaf to his pain as he was her enemy.

She did however hear the booming voice that pulled her out of her anger. "Lieutenant." Shar moved off of the cot, leaving the man to curse her over his shattered wrist. The Captain turned to the second man. "Take him to medical." The second man pulled the first up and they moved through the exit. Shar stood at attention waiting for the Captain to address her. The officer waited until the men were far enough away before he motioned to Shar. "Follow."

The Captain's office was cramped, too small for a man of such rank, though most of the space was taken up by files and cabinets. She stood, just waiting for the man to say anything. He was looking over some data, wrote a message, and then finally looked up at Shar. "That isn't your first fight, or injury to another pilot." Shar was a bit ashamed of that, but she was human. She could only take so much of their taunting, and every time they called her a wannabe ODST she always seemed to lose it. "I can't help but notice that these incidents always take place in the barracks. Care to explain, Lieutenant?"

Shar thought about that for a second. "Sir, because in the training we are focused, I do not usually eat in the mess hall, and I avoid them in the locker room." She was a bit embarrassed by that last part. It wasn't that she was embarrassed of being seeing nude, but that she just didn't feel comfortable around them. She'd managed to keep them from seeing any part of her that was human, allowing them to think she was a robot. "That leaves the barracks as the only location."

The Captain nodded, as though she'd only just proven him right. He leaned back in his chair, eyes studying Shar. She felt secure and safe inside of her ODST modified MJOLNIR armor. She'd recently gotten the armor redone so the black and blue paint was fresh. There were still scratch marks on her but they were less noticeable. The visor was brand new metal, a brilliant blue shade. She was sure it was the first time that the Captain had really been able to look at her. She just stood at attention, waiting for the man to say more.

"That will be all, Lieutenant. You can go." At the Captain's orders Shar saluted him and then turned leaving the office.

Shar moved back to the barracks, not having anywhere else to go. When she entered the room there was a mixed reaction. Some of the soldiers looked away from her, afraid, and others shot glares, while others just ignored her completely. She didn't pay attention to them, just moved over to her cot. She still didn't have anything to do so she just sat in silence.

She heard and could sense the people as they moved up behind her, three in total. Two more moved to stand before her. "We heard what you did." Shar didn't look up. "We're tired of you, freak. You don't belong here and you proved that by attacking another soldier. You're nothing more than a traitor."

Shar clenched her hands. She remembered the same word being painted on her footlocker during training. Why was she always called that? All she was is different from them, that didn't make her a traitor. She was still thinking when she felt one of the people behind her move. Shar turned just in time to see one of the men moving forward, a metal rod in hand. She stopped thinking, only reacted.

She reached out, grabbing the rod in the man's hand and pulling it toward her. The soldier lost his footing and as he started to fall over her cot Shar's right elbow came down on the man's spine. There was a shout of pain from the man before he hit the cot. She reached over, grabbing the man's belt and pulling it toward her and up. The soldier had no idea what to do as he was tossed through the air, falling half way on a cot.

All of it had happened in just a matter of a couple seconds. The others started to move and Shar shifted into a fighting stance. The first man was out so that left only four more enemies to take down. She easily saw the other soldiers as enemies. She'd fought the other trainees, fought against rebels; this was no different to her. They were attacking her, she would defend.

Two of the men moved forward as one and Shar turned to face them. Her first struck out, hitting one of the soldier's chest dead center. Bone cracked and the man flew back. Her foot struck out toward the second and hit the soldier's knee. He fell down toward the ground and Shar turned, her elbow hitting the side of the man's head and knocking him out. An arm wrapped around Shar's neck and she tucked her chin in to keep herself from being strangled. Her foot stamped down on the other man's foot and he let out a cry of pain but held tight. Her elbow struck back and hit his side causing him to release her a bit. Her right hand moved back to the man's shirt and her left arm grabbed his arm around her neck. With a quick shift and a pull she flung the man over her shoulder and he fell to the ground, hitting it hard.

The final soldier moved toward her and she was ready. She stuck out three times, hitting the soldier three times in the chest before she grabbed his shirt, pulling him toward her. Shar's helmet collided with the soldiers face and his nose broke. With a great push she sent him flying back and he hit the wall across the room. Shar stood looking around at the fallen soldiers. The soldiers who had watched were all looking at her in horror. She suddenly realized what she had done and didn't know what to do.

"Jesus, he's dead." She turned to look at the pilot kneeling over the final man. His face looked horrified as he turned to look at Shar.

Suddenly all Shar wanted to be was out of that place. She didn't stick around, moving out of the barracks and just walking. Eventually she found herself in the mess hall and she stood near the entrance, not sure what to do.

A strong hand rested on her shoulder and she looked over at the marine beside her. His blond hair was buzzed short and his chocolate brown eyes held strength in them. "What you doing standing around. Aren't you going to join us?" He passed her and moved toward a table. She spotted the ODST tattoo on his shoulder and she moved after him.

The soldiers that all sat at the table varied from muscular to slim, all of them bearing an ODST tattoo on their right shoulder. "Finally, maybe this one has a brain." The only female ODST stood up and moved to make room for Shar.

Shar hesitated for only a second before she took a seat. "You going to eat?" a red haired man across from Shar asked.

"No, I came here to get away from the soldiers in my barracks." Shar looked around at the soldiers. She felt oddly more at ease with them. She figured it was probably because in her opinion ODST were as close to Spartans as normal soldiers got, though honestly she'd never felt this comfortable about other Spartans. The memory of the photo of her father flashed in her mind, clean pressed marine uniform on. Maybe that was why. Her father had been a marine, an ODST, so it was the closest connection she had with him. It might explain why she felt so desperate to be considered an ODST, why she had outfitted her armor with all the ODST equipment she could get, and why she threatened techs with physical violence if they tried to remove any of her equipment.

"Well they didn't add a new cot to our barracks, so where are you staying?" The blond haired ODST asked. It surprised Shar a bit that they didn't seem to care at all that she was a girl.

"I'm a pilot with the project that's being tested here." She left it at that. Anything else and she would be breaking the classified label on the program.

"Oh, those things that they shot up into the air a few days ago. I bet you are kicking all the other pilot's butts." A brunette haired ODST to her left grinned. Shar nodded her head and the marines laughed. "Hell yeah you are. Some flyboys don't stand a chance against a trooper."

Shar sat in silence for a moment. They really thought she was a trooper? She was taller than them, in high tech armor, and her arm was robotic. "Can't blame you for wanting to get away from them." The blond soldier leaned forward on the table.

"Wish you could move in with us," the female soldier said. "I'd like to have a sane person who wouldn't be spending all their time cracking sex jokes and trying to show off."

"Oh, you know you love us, Jameson." The blond marine smirked and Jameson glared at him. There was something to his smile but Shar tried not to pay attention to it. It wasn't her business.

The rest of the soldiers pretended that nothing was happening. "Why don't you take that helmet off? We aren't going to bite, or are you really deformed?" the red haired soldier asked.

"I'd rather not. I'm not deformed, just like my armor." Shar didn't want to admit it but she felt her armor was a part of her. She only ever took it off when she was completely alone.

The brunette marine shrugged. "Whatever's your prerogative." The other soldiers all looked at him. He frowned as they all stared. "What?"

"How do you know that word?" Jameson asked.

The brunette marine looked toward the table. "I get word of the day messages. It was the word of the day last week." Shar smiled behind her visor, enjoying the light banter.

She sat with the marines for the next hour, just listening to them chatting, sometimes taking part when she was spoken too. They left one by one until finally only the blond marine, who she'd learned was called Johnson, the red haired marine, who she'd learned was Duran, and Jameson, were left.

"Well, I think we are going to call it a night." Duran stood waiting for the others.

"Say, any time you need to get away from those airhead pilots, go ahead and come to the barracks. We'll find you a cot for the night." Jameson stood as well followed by Johnson.

"I might take you up on that." She didn't want to tell them she might not be there much longer. She'd killed a soldier, and she didn't know what that would mean for her.

"Well, have a good night." Johnson frowned. "What is your name anyway?"

Shar was silent for a moment, actually surprised that no one had asked her name yet. She didn't know how they'd made it this long without using her name. "It's Shar."

The soldiers watched her for a moment. "Well what's your last name?" Duran asked.

"Don't have one, just Shar." She didn't want to admit she was a Spartan. Spartans had a rough relationship with ODST, something that had always stood in her way of feeling like one.

Jameson shrugged. "Well, hope you have a good sleep, Shar. Try not to let the guys in the barracks get under your skin."

Shar nodded and watched as they left. She sat in silence for a few minutes before she stood up and moved back to the barracks. When she entered the pilot barracks the others were asleep, though a few stirred as she entered. She moved over to her cot and stared down at it. Someone had written the word traitor on her sheets, and the word killer on her footlocker. So it was going to be like that.

Shar turned around and left the barracks. She moved outside and climbed up to the roof of the building. Memories of doing the same thing when she was younger plagued her mind. She stared up at the stars, just listening to the activity of the base as she drifted off.

The next day when she returned to the barracks she found her things gone. The other soldiers denied having done anything, but after a bit of pushing they feared her enough they said that some staff had taken it away. She checked a terminal and found that her quarters had been reassigned. She'd been moved into private quarters a distance away from the piloting facility where officers were usually roomed. She smiled as she realized the ODST barracks were between her new quarters and the launch facility. It meant she'd have a chance to see the ODST each day, maybe watch them train.

Shar made her way to the new quarters, finding them to be simple and she liked them. A cot, a desk, and a locker. She found that her footlocker had been put into the room and she set to unpacking. Once she was finished Shar sat down on the cot. She looked around and realized that she was all alone. For the first time in what felt like forever she reached up, removing her helmet and setting it to the side. She lay down on the cot and smiled as her head hit the pillow. She forgot how nice it was to actually feel her pillow. She settled in, glad to know that now she had a sanctuary from the other pilots.


	18. Bullfrog

Bullfrog

Shar stared at the area before her. She was sitting on the edge of a ledge, looking out at the series of platforms that had been suspended in air by chains. She had no idea why she was here, but she was sure she'd find out.

"Nice hardware," A voice from behind her laughed. Shar braced for insults, not turning around and acknowledging the voice. She shifted her right arm a bit, knowing he was talking about it. The next words surprised her. "Did you get that thing wrestling a brute with your bare hands or something?"

Shar turned, looking up to see a trio of ODST in full armor behind her. "Actually, I got it blowing up a building. Though, I have fought a brute bare-handed." Shar stood up and turned to the soldiers.

The soldiers looked her over studying her armor. "Damn, you must be important to get that kind of gear. Never seen another ODST with something like that."

"You better damn believe she's important." They all turned to face the source of the words. A woman moved toward them, ODST helmet tucked under her arm. She had dark brown eyes and bright orange hair. "What's wrong with you? Didn't you learn how to properly salute an officer?" The three ODST saluted her. "Not me you idiots." The woman pushed past the three men and stood before Shar. "I take it you're the Lieutenant that's going to be training with us today."

Shar nodded. "That is correct. You must be Lieutenant Hawkeye." Shar had read the woman's file and she had respect for her. Hawkeye had been through over a decade of leading a team against the Covenant. She had low losses over those years despite how dangerous the missions she'd done were.

"That would be me, but they call me Freyja around here." The Lieutenant looked the Spartan over. "You're not what I expected." The words were quiet but with her armor Shar could easily hear it.

The three ODST saluted Shar. "Sorry, ma'am. We meant no disrespect."

Shar ignored them. She'd never been a fan of being saluted. It was why she tended to wear no insignia. Can't be saluted if people can't tell you're an officer. "So, what will you be teaching me?"

"Well, Lieutenant, we're part of a special unit." She shifted so Shar could see the olive green leaping frog on her shoulder armor. "We are the bullfrogs, and we're going to teach you our specialty." The Lieutenant slipped on her helmet and motioned to the three soldiers. "These boys are completing their final lesson before they can join us in combat. Command thinks you only need one lesson, though."

"I probably only have time for one lesson. That will have to be good enough." Shar was sure that as soon as she finished here she'd be shipped out.

The Lieutenant moved over to some equipment cases. She opened them and Shar looked at the objects inside. "These are our equipment." She grabbed one. Shar grabbed one for herself. She looked it over; not believing it was what it looked to be. "Here, I'll show you how to attach it." Hawkeye showed Shar how the device was easily attached. Shar did her own, finding it rather simple. The Lieutenant grabbed a couple DMRs, handing one to Shar. "These are our weapons of choice."

Shar took the rifle. "I'm not complaining." The gun felt at home in her hands. It felt good to have a weapon again. She didn't get one often while on base.

Freyja moved over to the ledge. "I'm sure you know how to activate equipment." Shar nodded the Lieutenant turned back. She jumped into the air and the pack on her back activated. Jets propelled her up and forward, allowing her to reach the next platform.

So these were what Shar had suspected. They were real life jet-packs. She moved to the edge of the ledge and jumped. About half way to the height of her jump she fired her equipment. She felt the pack behind her vibrate as it propelled her up and forward. She landed on the ledge on the other side, having to regain her balance once she hit.

One of the other ODST landed beside her. "Fun isn't it." She could hear the grin in his voice. He moved forward and made the next jump. The other two quickly followed. Shar moved a bit slower than them, still getting use to how the pack worked.

They spent the next two hours making jumps. About half way through they started to shoot at targets as they appeared, trying to do it while in flight. Shar found it a bit hard, but she managed to get the hang of it.

Shar was following Freyja as she tried to put Shar through the paces of jumping, making some of the longest and hardest of the jumps. They'd been making one of the hardest of the jumps across a wide opening when things went wrong. Just as Freyja reached the other side of the jump only feet away her pack lost power and then in a second it exploded.

Freyja started to fall and Shar took action. She cut her jetpack and dropped after her. A trail of smoke streaked toward the ground and Shar reached the end of it, grabbing onto the Lieutenant. She shifted them and fired her jet-pack. It was not able to really handle stopping their fall. She did manage to slow them a bit before they hit the ground.

Shar's mind went black for a second and then she snapped back to consciousness. She was sore and found that her right arm was a bit damaged. Some of the metal was cracked or dented and a few sparks shot out from exposed wires. She would worry about that later. Shar looked over to Freyja who lay on the ground beside her. The woman's armor was still smoking and Shar could see that her back was burnt badly.

A medical team came rushing over. Shar waved the away from her, telling them to check on the ODST. She moved over to the side as the medics started to work. Shar watched as they carried the woman off. She looked over as the three ODST came over and joined her. She didn't know what to tell them, when they asked if their Lieutenant was all right.

When the medics had finished and Lieutenant Hawkeye had been set up in a room. The ODST had gone inside to talk to her while Shar stood outside. When they came out one of them stayed back. "She said she wanted to talk to you, ma'am."

Shar nodded and moved into the room. She stood at the side of the bed where Freyja lay. "You wanted to speak to me?"

The ODST opened her eyes and looked up at Shar. She took a long breath and cleared her head. "Yes, I wanted to speak to you. I have to agree with command. You only needed one lesson. Most bullfrogs take at least three lessons to get as good as you did. You'll do fine." She shifted a bit to make herself more comfortable. "I wanted to thank you for what you did. You could have let me fall."

"That was not an option." To Shar that was true. To completely abandon another soldier was not something that Shar could do, particularly when it was an ODST. "I did what was the only option I could come up with."

"Either way, you probably saved my life. Sometimes these packs do go bad, and I've had them cut out on me but I can usually get them working before I hit the ground. Never had one explode on me." Freyja smiled just a bit. "I know you Spartans don't have a good history with the ODST, but as far as I'm concerned, you're one of us."

Shar didn't reply right away. "Thank you, Freyja. Honestly it will take a lot more then Spartans to win the war. It will take ODST like you, the kind that can keep their team alive, that can take a hit and don't let it take them out."

The woman chuckled. "I've been through too much hell to give up now, Lieutenant." She looked over at Shar's arm. "Seems you've been through a bit of hell yourself. You should get a tech to look at that, at least stop it sparking. Hard to be stealthy when you're giving off little sparks."

Shar looked over at her arm. It was still sparking and she was having trouble moving it. "I think I'll do that. You have a good rest." With that Shar left the room and moved toward the laboratory to get her arm fixed.


	19. Most Important Prize

Most important prize

Shar watched foxtrot as they moved slowly forward through the forest. She wondered if she should warn them that the instructors had set a trap ahead. After all she wasn't technically against them in this mission. Maybe helping them would also get her some brownie points toward the other Spartan IIIs not being so harsh when she gets back to the barracks. Then again, maybe dealing with foxtrot would give her enough of a distraction to complete her mission.

Shar finally made a decision and jumped down quietly from her perch in the tree. She ran across the forest floor, keeping as low as she could while still moving quickly. She'd just spotted foxtrot when the strap was sprung. A soldier moved out and the butt of the instructor's gun slammed into the side of Min's head. Shar took action, deciding she'd have to use whoever was closest. Her hand smacked into Tom's shoulder, sending him falling out of the way before she tackled Lucy to the ground. The female member of foxtrot tried to speak but Shar put up her finger over where her mouth would be, telling the other girl to be silent.

There was some shouting about how they only had three but there should be four. Shar let out a breath when another said that they'd seen the fourth run away through the forest. She waited until she heard them drag off the rest of Foxtrot before she let Lucy up. "I'm not against you." She didn't know if the other girl would believe her.

Lucy jumped at Shar but she stepped out of the way. The other girl started to throw punches but Shar took a defensive stance and started to block back. "Not against us? You just pushed Tom toward the enemy. You could have beaten up the instructors rather than hiding." Lucy took a step back, breathing hard but still at the ready to fight. "Why'd you do that?"

Shar pulled out a small device and let Lucy see the screen. There was a small dot slowly moving across the screen. "I put a tracker on Tom. This way we can find their base."

Lucy looked at the screen and frowned. "Where did you get a tracking device?" She eyed Shar suspiciously.

Shar just looked at her for a moment. "I have a sniper rifle, a DMR, ODST armor, and you're asking me where I got the tracking device." Shar shook her head. "I stole it before the exercise started and we were restricted to particular areas."

Lucy shrugged. Was it really that normal and accepted for her to steal things? She supposed it would just make things easier. "So, what do you get out of this?"

Shar knew it would come to that. Lucy wasn't foolish enough to think that she was doing this purely to try to help foxtrot. She was never given the exactly same task as the other teams. "Well, you need their flag. I need something else. Something a bit smaller that I have to get. All I want from you and foxtrot is to make a diversion while I get what I need."

"And why would I help you do that?" Shar thought it was one of the dumbest questions she'd ever heard Lucy ask.

"Maybe because if you don't then I'm just going to use this tracker to find their base, steal my item on my own, and leave your team to the instructors to do what they want to with them. Oh, and I don't think they are too happy with your team after you attacked them during that one test. Bet they won't be too nice to your friends." She hated to be forcing Lucy's hand like this, because threatening other soldiers with being left to be hurt wasn't her usual style, but Shar was willing to do what she had to for her mission.

Lucy sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'm in. What do we do?" Shar smiled behind her visor and explained the plan.

The two soldiers lay in the foliage around the base. The instructors had hidden it by covering the buildings in foliage and keeping out of sight. Still, high above it hung a bright red flag, foxtrot's target. "All right, you know what to do?" Lucy nodded and Shar moved.

She kept to the shadows, edging closer to the base. She ducked behind a bush as a pair of soldiers rounded one of the buildings, talking to each other. They were talking too low but what little she caught it seemed like they were having a rather trivial conversation. She let them pass before she moved again.

Shar came to a stop beside the only building with guards. It had to be the one that they were keeping foxtrot in, because there'd be no other reason to be guarding it. Shar glanced around the corner and could see Lucy on the other side. She nodded and they both moved. Shar moved forward, slamming her fist into the first guard's chest. He fell back and his head smacked back against the second guard's. The first fell to the ground and the second joined him when Lucy hit him in the stomach and followed it with a downward strike to the back of the guard's head.

Shar moved to the door and Lucy took the other side. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. There was a voice that spoke through the door but Shar didn't respond. Finally, wanting to know what was wrong, the soldier inside opened the door. As soon as he did Shar moved into the doorway.

Her fist hit the man's nee and the second slammed into his throat, causing him to choke in an effort to breathe. Shar hit him one more time in the side of the head and he crumpled to the ground. Shar looked up just in time to see the three other guards in the room raise their weapons. "Shar dove forward and the shots soared over her head. She grabbed her DMR and took aim. Three shots, all to the leg, land the guards fell to the ground, not out but hurt.

Lucy moved into the room moving to the closest guard. She kicked his hand, sending the rifle flying. She quickly grabbed the pistol from his side and, hoping that he had stun rounds, fired at his arm. The shot burst on contact so she put the second shot into his chest and he fell, paralyzed. Shar grabbed the SMG from the second guard and yanked it out of his hand. She could hear the bone break but that wasn't her concern. She aimed the gun and shot a quick burst into the chest of the third man. She then brought the gun down on the second guard's head, knocking him out.

Shar looked over to see Lucy already releasing her teammates. Shar turned her attention to the door to make sure that no one came in. She was focused, so she didn't see the fist as it slammed into the back of her helmet. Shar instinctively tucked and rolled away, looking back at the threat. It was Tom. He charged forward and Shar blocked his first hit. Her fist hit his stomach and he doubled over. Her knee then came up to hit his shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Tom, stop it," Lucy growled at her team leader. "She's on our side. She helped me get you guys." She moved over and stood between Shar and Tom, trying to stop the fight.

"She's just using you. She's got some other motive. She's probably going to turn on us. She's a traitor." Tom got to his feet but he wasn't as steady as he was before. Shar knew that he wasn't really a threat to her any more. She'd done enough damage to make it so that Tom wouldn't be able to fight her back properly. If she hadn't had a helmet on she would have had her on trouble but there was a reason why she wore armor.

"Tom, we need to get the flag. We're running out of time." Good, Lucy was trying to get him focused again.

"Fine, we aren't going to fail our mission. Let's move foxtrot." Tom lead the team outside and Shar had a bad feeling. He gave up on that too quickly.

She didn't have the time to worry about that. She needed to act while foxtrot was grabbing the flag. She moved out of the building and headed away from the flag. She'd tagged which building it was that she needed to get to. She could hear gunfire across the base and knew that foxtrot was fighting their way to the flag. She moved across the base with ease, finding the building.

Shar forced her way inside finding very little actual resistance. She made her way into the office of the man in charge of the instructors and moved to his desk. She looked through the drawers, finally finding the single packet of small cards that was her target. She looked to the desk and spotted the small wooden box that she was familiar with. It was the wooden box that Chief Mendez kept his cigars in.

The door to the room such and she found the man standing there, frowning at her. Shar clenched her fist. If it had been Kurt she would have had trouble raising a fist to him. He was the one that had given her the chance to be a Spartan, who trained them. Though, since it was Mendez, the man who had come up with all the tormenting exercises and ideas that he could to use against them, Shar didn't hesitate.

She jumped over the desk, closing the distance quickly. She blocked the Chief's first hit and tried to strike back but he moved out of the way. It went like that for a few seconds before Shar suddenly moved back. She decided to completely change up her tactics if she was going to win and get out. She moved back and around the desk and Mendez carefully followed her, keeping her in a way that he could attack.

Shar made her move, grabbing the chair and pushing it toward him. Mendez pushed it out of the way before it hit him but the diversion had worked enough. Shar's knee hit Mendez's side, and she followed it up with an open handed slap to the side of his face. He fell to the side, stunned. It was enough for Shar. She needed to get away.

She didn't want to miss this chance to beat up the man that made her life hell at every chance, so she did the next best thing. As she moved around the desk she grabbed the wooden box of cigars. Shar moved to the door and opened it, slipping outside and then crashing her fist into the controls. Hopefully it would at least slow him down. Shar turned and moved out of the building.

She stopped when she got outside, as she found herself surrounded by five soldiers. Seems that foxtrot hadn't done all that good of a job of distracting them. Shar looked around at them and made her decision. She moved to the left and charged the closest soldier. Right before he shot she ducked rolling to his feet. As she stood up she struck out with the wooden box. It smacked into the side of his head with a loud thud and the soldier fell.

Shar didn't look back. She took off at a full run, zigging and sagging in order to keep from being hit. She ducked behind a building and quickly climbed up to the roof. She watched from above as the soldiers ran past the building, thinking they were still following her.

She waited until they were a distance away before she jumped down and ran off in the other direction. She spotted Mendez moving through the base and increased her speed. She heard him open fire on her but the pistol was inaccurate at that distance and he missed. She slipped into the foliage and away from the base. She made a note to get back at Tom and foxtrot later for having failed her.

Shar stood in the command center, looking at the two men. Mendez's cheek was already starting to booze from where she'd slapped him and she was sure there was a bruise on his side. "What'd you do with my box?"

Shar didn't answer and she couldn't help but notice the smile that tugged at the Lieutenant's lips as he looked over the small cards. "Did you look at these?" He held up the cards.

Shar shook her head. "No sir, that was not a part of the mission. I was only to retrieve them." She kept an eye on Mendez. She didn't know what he'd do to try to get back the box she'd stolen. Not that he would. She'd buried it in the woods where he'd never find it, and there was no way they'd get the location out of her.

Kurt put them back in the envelope and stood from his chair. He moved over to Shar and handed it over to her. "It's yours to keep, soldier. Your prize for having won." Shar took the envelope. "And it's an important prize. One you should always remember."

Shar opened the envelope and looked at the cards. She realized they weren't cards but rather pictures. She slid the pictures back in and then stood tall. "Sir, thank you, sir!"

"You are dismissed, trainee." Shar moved out of the room and Kurt turned to Mendez. "Did you have a back up box?" Mendez shook his head. Kurt smiled just a little bit.

Shar sat on the roof. She wasn't sure what to do with foxtrot yet, so she didn't want them to know that she'd come out of the fight without a problem. She sat on the cold roof, staring over the pictures. She recognize each and every face, and she understood what the Lieutenant had meant.

The envelope had held pictures of her family members, all their service pictures. She sat just staring at the uniformed faces of those that had come before her. It was her heritage, her legacy, and she was carrying on the tradition of being military. She looked at the causal photo of her mother and father, sitting with a four-year-old version of her on her mother's lap. She wondered where the Lieutenant had gotten it but she supposed it didn't matter. She could still remember her mother's body lying there, dead beside her as she tried to wake her up.

To her the Lieutenant giving her these pictures was a sign that he wanted her to remember, to never forget why it is she is fighting, what those before her gave up for her to be there. She curled up on the roof and lay the put the pictures into the envelope. She clutched them to her chest and closed her eyes. She drifted off, dreaming of her family, and for the first time in a while, the three Spartans that had saved her.


	20. Hesitate

Hesitate

Shar moved across the base, wondering what modification had been made to her suit. She'd been told that some part had been send to her from her new team but she didn't know what. She didn't even know if she trusted it. She had no real reason to trust anyone on this new team, so some part being replaced by one of them left her unnerved.

She wasn't sure how happy she was to have a team at all. She hadn't bothered to really look in on their files. Who they were didn't matter much, as long as they didn't hold her back or keep her from completing her mission. Though, if their leaders were a higher rank than her, she supposed they couldn't be completely useless. Then again she'd known Generals that were awful in ground combat. She still had yet to meet a Spartan that was bad in ground combat, and these were Spartans.

Shar stopped as she spotted two figures across the field of the base. She recognized the two Spartans, even in armor. There was a grace to one of them and the other stood with an air of authority that could only be one Spartan. It had to be Kelly and John. She thought of going over to them, talking to them, but she hesitated. She remembered that Kelly had stopped writing her. If she wasn't willing to write, then how could Shar believe that she'd be all right with her just walking up and talking to them?

The two Spartans moved across the field, and a moment later were joined by a third. Shar frowned as she looked at the three of them. She remembered the three Spartans standing around her when she was a child and the three of them seemed to fit it. In height the new Spartan was the right size compared to John. She couldn't be sure, as she had never learned the third Spartan's name that day. Shar chased away those thoughts. It didn't mean anything that they looked like them. She knew that John and Kelly were the Spartans who had saved her that day. She didn't know about the third, but it didn't matter in the long run.

Shar watched the three of them move away and eventually out of sight. She thought of going after them, but decided against it. She didn't want to try to talk to them just to be rejected. It was going to be hard enough to deal with having a new team. She didn't need to also be dealing with realizing that the one friend she thought she had wasn't her friend any more.

Shar turned her attention away from the Spartan IIs. She needed to stay focused. She only had one more day before she was being moved to meet up with her new team. Hopefully they would have a bit of time to get to know each other before they'd be sent out. She was used to working with soldiers one time on one mission, but if she was going to be with these people for a while, she'd want to get to know them first. Maybe she should read over their files. Shar changed directions, heading back toward her personal quarters. She'd hack into the system and learn what she could about these soldiers.


	21. Sword

Sword

Shar ran across the burned ground. She was running straight for the main part of the city. If she could get there then maybe she could get to the civilian evacs and find where the Covenant were coming from. She could hold them off, give the evacuation the time they needed. She slowed when she heard the distinct cry of a small child. Shar looked around, trying to find the source.

She spotted a young child lying on the ground beside a smoking body. There was a flash of a memory from so long ago but it vanished and Shar ignored it. She moved without thinking, changing her course. She spotted the purple tank turning to aim again at the child. Shar moved faster than the tank's cannon could recharge. She grabbed up the child and rolled out of the way as the second shot was fired and hit the ground where the kid had been. Shar moved behind a house and set the child down.

The young boy clung to her armor and she tried to pry him from her. She was too distracted by the boy clinging to her that she didn't even notice the shimmer behind her. Pain flared across her back as the energy sword cut through her armor and power pack. Her systems went dead and she was sure that the energy cells had been destroyed. She knew the elite would strike again and she dropped down to her knees. Luckily the boy's grip had loosened enough for her to pull him from her.

In one movement she used her left hand to push the boy down to the ground and out of the way while her right hand grabbed the knife on her chest plate. She spun around to face the enemy, her knife striking out. It sliced at the elite's hand and the alien roared in pain. She moved to swing again but the elite stepped back and she hit only air. Shar cursed as the alien pulled back its arm to swing again. She moved forward as quickly as she could and tackled the elite.

They both fell to the ground and Shar grabbed the elite's sword hand, holding onto its wrist, trying to keep the hand at a distance. She couldn't take another wound from that sword. This mission had really only started and already she was finding it hard to move. Each and every motion sent new pain from the cut on her back. She could swear that something from her power pack was leaking into the wound, but she'd have to worry about that later.

The elite roared in Shar's face and she acted on instinct. Her head came forward and slammed into the alien's. The enemy was stunned and Shar followed it up with a second blow with her right hand. The metal would hurt more than if she'd hit him with her left hand. Not to mention her left hand was currently busy holding the sword away. Shar continued to strike at the elite until the helmet had cracked and the arm in her grasp went limp. When she was sure it was at least unconscious she removed her left hand from its wrist. Shar grabbed up the energy sword and with one swing severed the alien's head from its neck. She wasn't about to take any chances of it being alive.

Shar clicked off the sword and attached it to her hip. She then turned back to the little boy and found that he was now several feet away and seemed to be cowering away from her. Shar felt a pain, but it wasn't from the wound on her back. It hurt that the child was afraid of her. She had just saved his life after all. She moved over to him and he seemed to shrink away from her. It hurt more because a part of her had hoped to be like the three Spartans that had saved her life. They had come out of nowhere and had saved her, killed the enemy, and she'd been grateful. This boy wasn't happy to see her. He was terrified of her. She looked down at her hands and realized that her right hand was coated with purple blood from the elite. She clenched her fists and looked at the child.

Shar moved forward and before he could stop her she'd grabbed him up. He struggled in her arms, asking her to let her go. She took off at a run toward the city, leaving the wraith far behind them. Right now she was too injured and she didn't have the weapons to take care of that sort of problem. She stayed focused on where they were going, ignoring the boy who was now begging her to let him go.

Shar didn't stop until she reached the view of the escape ships. She dropped the kid on the ground and pointed at the shuttles. The boy didn't waste any time and took off running. There was something insulting that he was more afraid of her then he seemed to have been of the Covenant. She was the good guy after all.

Shar turned her attention back toward the streets that were heading toward the shuttle. This is where the Covenant would strike first, trying to kill as many people as she could. She did a quick check of her systems which had been working their way back online. One of the fuel cells was useless, and the other was only running at half power. Her armor systems couldn't support any equipment and her motion tracker had moved down to a very close range. VISR was down and for now she didn't have enough power to contact the ships above. Her back stung as she started to walk. She was injured, her armor was greatly damaged, and she was trying to protect civilians. Yeah, this was going to be a challenge.

Shar moved to the main road and stood in the middle of it. She grabbed the energy sword from her hip and clicked it on. She stood and waited, knowing that if an elite saw her with it he would challenge her for the honor of a fallen comrade who had wielded the blade. She ignored the people that ran down the street heading toward the shuttles. They all kept far away from her, just as scared of the blood splattered Spartan as the aliens that chased them to the shuttles. She gripped the sword tighter and waited for a challenge to come her way.


End file.
